Mobile citizens move toward rebuilding

South Mobile received the brunt of Hurricane Katrina’s force in Alabama, and, according to Thomas Wright, director of missions for Mobile Baptist Association, all 104 Mobile Association churches received some type of damage. While nowhere near the devastation experienced by Louisiana and Mississippi, the areas hit in Mobile include the destroyed homes of about 3,000 people, Wright said. “Believers and unbelievers are suffering from the trauma.”
   
And as for Bayou La Batre’s shrimping business, “Katrina picked up million dollar shrimp boats, carried them inland and stacked them three high like cord wood,” Wright noted.
   
Mobile’s hardest-hit areas were Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island and the Cypress Shores and Chickasaw areas, he said. San Souci Baptist Church, Coden, had 6 feet of water in the sanctuary, and First Baptist Church, Bayou La Batre, had between 4 and 6 feet of water in its various buildings. Woodridge Baptist Church and Cyprus Shores Baptist Church, both in Mobile, had major roof damage. 
   
In spite of all the damage, however, the association’s churches have recognized the potential for evangelistic outreach, Wright said. “Many of our congregations realized that this was an important moment for the relevancy of the church in a secular culture,” he said. “The evangelistic ministry from our churches to our communities has been incredible.”
   
He noted that many of the churches, including First, Bayou La Batre, immediately opened their doors to those needing shelter and began gathering and distributing supplies. Members of First, Bayou La Batre also handed out Bibles, which were “more popular than the water or food,” Wright said.
   
Other church members are out, working in the communities to meet practical needs such as putting tarps on roofs, cutting up trees and helping neighbors clean out flooded homes.
   
And the mood of the association remains positive, focusing on recovery in both the evangelistic  and the rebuilding sense.
   
“We will need to respond promptly with new congregations in areas that were touched by the disaster relief teams,” Wright said. “We need to follow up on the good will earned by the feeding, chainsaw and mud out teams that were first responders. We also want to mobilize evangelism and prayer walking teams in our communities.”
   
As for rebuilding, “it will require months to repair the infrastructure (of Mobile),” Wright noted. “We will require volunteer roofing, chain saw, mud out and general repair teams for many months to come.”
   
Alabama disaster relief teams responded promptly to the area’s need, mobilizing the state’s feeding unit, shower unit and seven cleanup and recovery teams to Moffett Road Baptist Church, Mobile, just days after Katrina hit, said Tommy Puckett, director of disaster relief for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) (see story, page 4).
   
Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has also begun working in the Bayou La Batre area, partnering with Volunteers of America to assess how best to help.
   
Opportunities for churches and teams wishing to work in the Mobile area are being compiled by Mobile Association and SBOM and will soon be posted on those entities’ Web sites, www.mobilebaptists.org and www.alsbom.org, respectively. 
   
Wright said the association will post listings as soon as online service is re-established, but until then, volunteers can call the association at 251-661-7111. 
   
Puckett said volunteers are ready to serve in the Mobile area. “We have a lot of (non-disaster relief trained) people that want to come in and help,” he said. 
   
And that help will be greatly needed and appreciated, Wright said. 
   
“Our philosophy is that we must get churches back to full service as quickly as possible,” he said. 
   
“The congregations can then serve as ministry centers for church members and lost people in our communities.” (TAB)