Baptist Disaster Relief was begun in Texas by a Baptist Men group many years ago. Through the years, it has grown throughout the Southern Baptist Convention with many states having their own training and credentials for Disaster Relief. Teams are also formed from associations among people who know each other and team up to serve wherever there is a disaster. North American Mission Board (namb.net) has come on board in the last decade to provide a nation-wide exposure to the work of the army of volunteers working in Disaster Relief. Teams vary from communication, laundry & shower, feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, heavy equipment, administration, child-care, chaplains, flood & fire recovery, and tarp placement.
Volunteers always wear their yellow shirts every day of deployment. Each volunteer is assigned to a location where they serve under “white hats (center leaders),” “blue hats (team leaders),” or “green hats” (association leaders). A disaster situation requires an organized system or network to provide needed services and goods that people need. This is no small task, particularly when there is no power or normal communication. There is usually a short delay where teams are “staged” to prepare to move in and set up. The needed teams are then deployed to areas where their skill and equipment can be used by those in need.
Our team occupied one half of the Recreation/Fitness Center desk at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama. We also used the "gathering area" in the fitness center. Teams were housed in Sunday School rooms of the main building. Several age-levels met in large groups on Sundays so the volunteers did not have to move out of their rooms. The volunteers took showers in the locker rooms of the Recreation/Fitness Center and ate in the church fellowship hall. The housing area would hold almost 100 volunteers at full capacity--that would be cot to cot in rooms with little extra space. This makes deployment affordable for the volunteers and puts them close to their tasks so there is no transportation issue.
In our admin area, each trained worker, brings their own computer and the Alabama State Board of Missions has a laptop and two printers that were used to process jobs, organize teams, keep track or resources, and find people. Feeding teams in Dothan were larger when they were feeding the general public in the early days following Hurricane Michael. We were there later in the deployment where that had ceased and a 4-member feeding team--also trained and deployed, provided meals for the volunteers only. It was great to not worry about meals as we worked 12-14 hour days. Hot, cooked breakfasts and dinners were provided and sack lunches were picked up after breakfast so lunch could be eaten at the job site. In the initial disaster, the entire surrounding area was impacted, but as time went on, fewer emergency needs were being requested.
The church generously provided their space for us to work and assisted us whenever possible. Many individuals provided gift cards and these were used to purchase tarps and other supplies needed. Sometimes the cards were given to homeowners who needed them to purchase items. Some resources were given from people in areas who have benefitted from the ministry in previous disasters. The admin team was responsible for organization of housing, meals, credentials, volunteers sign-ins, liability releases that had to be signed by homeowners, where each team was and what job they were working, answering the phone, and handling walk-ins. Because we were there during the end of the job, we did all parts of the process from intake, answering the phone, writing up jobs, making copies, and scanning final paperwork. During the busy early days, someone would only do one part of the job the entire day.
People who called were hurting and had problems beyond fallen trees and we worked hard to show compassion and patience while trying to help. Trained chaplains were a part of every team. Their job was to talk to the homeowner or anyone else they encountered, be a listening ear, and share the Gospel. They would also go through the neighborhood when a job was being done to see if anyone else in the area needed help. People met Jesus because of this type of ministry. Even as an admin, I had opportunities to talk with people about what motivated me to work for nothing for a week to help people I had never met. The Gospel was spoken, but it was also indelibly communicated through the actions of many of helped others, many who had no means to help themselves.
If you are a Baptist, think about being involved as a volunteer in Disaster Relief. You do have to be trained ahead of time and be willing to deploy on short notice on your own dime, but the rewards are both immediately and eternal. If you cannot volunteer, you can give through the state Baptist convention of your choice.
