By Will Hall, Message Editor
ALEXANDRIA – On his way to Denham Springs to minister to people devastated by the historic floods, Gevan Spinney, president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, told the Baptist Message he wanted folks to know help is coming.
HOPE
Spinney said he wanted “our friends” and “brothers and sisters” to rest assured Louisiana Baptists “are praying for you, and, we are coming.”
“I know from experience being where you are it seems like it takes a while. But we want you to know the cavalry is on its way,” he emphasized.
“I’ve been up here at the convention building and I’ve seen the command center,” Spinney shared. “It’s getting organized. They are putting things in place.
“I looked on a board showing where shower trailer units and mud-out teams from all around are coming. Feeding trailers are coming from all over the states,” he continued. “Southern Baptists are on the way to get boots on the ground to help you through this.”
HELP
Spinney also made an appeal to “our churches north of Opelousas.”
“Now is the time to help,” he said. “We’ve been through this. We know what it’s like. We don’t just have sympathy for our fellow Louisiana brothers and sisters in the south who have been affected by the flood. We have empathy because we have just gone through this ourselves in March.
“We know what it takes. We know the effort it takes. We need to go. We need to give resources. We need to give our time. We need to band together,” he continued. “It’s our turn to help now. We’ve been the recipients and now we need to go and help out. So let’s go and do this, not for our glory but for the glory of our Lord Jesus.”
Spinney also reminded Louisiana Baptists this is not a time for meeting just physical needs with resources, finances, and “boots on the ground.”
“The greatest needs in a lot of the homes are spiritual needs,” he stated. “And I want to encourage you to use this opportunity to win souls.
“God has given us the opportunity to share the love of Christ through that cold cup of water and a hot meal. But the most important thing is to reach out to that person’s soul and give them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“You don’t need a passport for this mission trip,” he added.
THANKS
Spinney also offered appreciation for help coming from across the Southern Baptist Convention and praised the North American Mission Board “who does great things with disaster relief.”
“Those yellow shirts are a reminder throughout our state that we are not alone in this,” Spinney said.
“I want to encourage you, you have been faithful to give as Southern Baptists, and you have been faithful to serve,” he commended. But he also added that “Louisiana needs you more than ever before.
“Please come. Please give. Help us recover the state of Louisiana from this flood,” Spinney petitioned. “We need you.
“Thank you for what you did in March after the flood in the northern part of the state, but the southern part of our state needs you more than ever.
