ALEXANDRIA–LBC evangelism team leader Wayne Jenkins reported 1,788 profession of faiths, construction of a chapel, and hundreds of people treated by medical and dental teams on the state convention’s annual summer mission project to Brazil. ALEXANDRIA–LBC evangelism team leader Wayne Jenkins reported 1,788 profession of faiths, construction of a chapel, and hundreds of people treated by medical and dental teams on the state convention’s annual summer mission project to Brazil. The teams also enhanced a security wall for an orphanage that was being pillaged by neighborhood gangs. This year’s projects were in San Paulo, the New York City of South America, with project needs identified by Southern Baptist missionaries on assignment in the region. “In all, 149 people went with us and we worked with 17 churches,” Jenkins said. “We did revivals and evangelism campaigns. We had a building team that built a chapel in 5 days that will seat about 150.Our construction team built a security wall around an orphanage and we started on a dormitory. We had five medical /dental teams that treated a little over 2,000 patients.  We even had a sports team that used basketball and shared the gospel. “God uses all kinds of skills to help us … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS – If you ask the pastors of Louisiana’s hurricane affected areas how they are doing, the most common answer is tired. Fatigue comes with the territory of being a pastor in a pressure cooker. NEW ORLEANS – If you ask the pastors of Louisiana’s hurricane affected areas how they are doing, the most common answer is tired. Fatigue comes with the territory of being a pastor in a pressure cooker. Joe Williams, chaplain for the North American Mission Board, helps pastors and staff members deal with the emotions they are feeling after the storm. Since arriving in the New Orleans area, he has warned ministers of compassion fatigue. Using the analogy of a sponge, he describes how ministers soak up family, church and personal stress until they burn out or are wrung out. If they are wrung out, most pastors repeat the process, able to absorb less each time, until they burn out. The norm is that 80 percent of all staff members will leave an area after a major catastrophe in 18-24 months, mainly due to burnout. “Leading a church through a disaster is so energy-consuming that you could do it only once every 10 years because it takes several years out of your life,” First Ponchatoula’s pastor, Jake Roudkovski, … [Read more...]

Before the storm made landfall in the wee hours of Aug. 29 near Buras, LBC disaster relief leaders made arrangements for what Jones called “the granddaddy of hurricanes.” A week later, 16 units from Louisiana had been activated to minister in the state. By the end of the 2005, four kitchen units, 10 chainsaw and one shower unit had responded to the largest disaster relief effort in Baptist history. LAPLACE – Cal Jones never will forget the excitement on the faces of Louisiana Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers in LaPlace after a physically- and emotionally-draining 12-hour day of feeding thousands of people. One by one, workers reported leading Hurricane Katrina victims to a relationship with Jesus. Though the number varied, one female worker led 15 people to accept Christ that day. However, the scene was not just limited to LaPlace. Site after site in Louisiana, disaster relief volunteers shared stories of leading Katrina victims to a personal relationship with Christ. “Seeing others come to Christ is the main reason Southern Baptists started disaster relief,” Jones, who served as interim LBC disaster relief director earlier this year, said. “We wanted to show the victims of the storm that we cared and the … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A thin edge of normality veils the emotional trauma of living for the last year in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which has been called the nation’s worst-ever natural disaster. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A thin edge of normality veils the emotional trauma of living for the last year in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which has been called the nation’s worst-ever natural disaster. As Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page noted after being in New Orleans July 17, “I quickly realized that there is no way to see the absolute scope of devastation without visiting there personally. Literally, mile after mile of devastation greets any visitor.” A year into Katrina recovery, the situation in greater New Orleans remains acute, and some pastors are to the point of emotional exhaustion. “The hardest thing about being in New Orleans at the present time is seeing the devastation every day. It’s still an awful sight to drive through the flood zone,” said David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans.     “Another hard thing is saying goodbye to your friends, weekly,” Crosby said.     Despite a city-imposed Aug. 29 deadline for home repairs to be started or contracted for, only … [Read more...]

TAYLORS, S.C. (BP) – Words cannot express the depth of emotion that I have felt recently, having returned from a trip to New Orleans and surrounding areas. TAYLORS, S.C. (BP) – Words cannot express the depth of emotion that I have felt recently, having returned from a trip to New Orleans and surrounding areas. Like many people, I had seen media reports on the damage of Hurricane Katrina. However, I quickly realized that there is no way to see the absolute scope of devastation without visiting there personally. Literally, mile after mile of devastation greets any visitor. I was there at the invitation of David Crosby, pastor of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans. (By the way, that church has maintained a 10 percent giving level to the Cooperative Program, even during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina!) David and I have known one another for many years. While there, I spoke at the First Baptist Church of Covington, La., which is under the capable leadership of Waylon Bailey. I also was privileged to speak to the many leaders of the greater New Orleans area.Pray for them as many in their congregations are experiencing an ongoing lassitude. But in the midst of the horrible devastation, there were bright spots. As we … [Read more...]

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – At the national level, more than 30,000 people, churches, associations and state conventions have given $23.8 million through the North American Mission Board for Katrina-related disaster relief and recovery efforts. ALPHARETTA, Ga. – At the national level, more than 30,000 people, churches, associations and state conventions have given $23.8 million through the North American Mission Board for Katrina-related disaster relief and recovery efforts. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program was tapped for $12.5 million. The SBC Executive Committee last September allocated to Katrina relief the beyond-the-budget giving of Southern Baptists that had been received the previous fiscal year. New Orleans Theological Seminary received half of the total; SBC Disaster Relief received 25 percent; Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama state conventions received the remaining 25 percent. To date, Louisiana has received $4.5 million and Mississippi, $4.7 million from NAMB. About $500,000 each was disbursed to Alabama, Florida, Baptist General Convention of Texas and Southern Baptists of Texas state conventions. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary received about $150,000. About $1.1 million was … [Read more...]

Of the $6,116,151.49 distributed to date in Louisiana ... following is a detailed list of how the money is/is to be spent: Of the $6,116,151.49 distributed to date in Louisiana, $243,000 has been directed to pastor and staff assistance, • $1,815,053.01 to churches enrolled in the national Adopt A Church (AAC) program; • $1,101,973.77 to non-AAC-enrolled churches, and to associations; • $243,684.37 for pastor/staff assistance; • $802,729.80 for church rebuilding and new construction. Of the nearly $5.8 million not yet disbursed, • $700,000 has been allocated for churches enrolled in AAC, and to assist when partners fail to follow through; • $800,000 for non-adopted churches; • $300,000 for pastor/staff assistance; and • $3.6 million for church rebuilding and new construction. • The remaining $475,326.18 is in a ‘general disaster relief’ fund for disaster relief units and related equipment and supplies, as well as the training of workers. … [Read more...]

Louisianian Disaster Relief volunteers ... list of what was done Louisianian Disaster Relief volunteers helped in a variety of ways during the Katrina response 7,805,835 meals prepared 43,183 showers provided 14,122 laundry loads washed and dried 12,040 gallons of water distributed 1,757 children cared for 6,765 yards cleaned 523 homes gutted and/or repaired … [Read more...]

Evangelism usually doesn’t happen spontaneously. People tend to come to the Lord because someone intended to tell them. NEW ORLEANS – As the sun was slipping behind the silhouette of the Superdome, a mailman stopped to pick up his evening supply of water and canned goods. The workers of the distribution tent allowed him to come after-hours because his job started before the distribution tent was open and quitting time was long after the tent closed. Butch McGinnis, from First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, Oklahoma, headed the relief effort at the time. He let the mailman in the locked gate as he did most evenings. However, this evening Butch asked the man a simple question. “You know, we’ve been talking all these evenings about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t you think it’s about time you started one?” To which the response came, “I think you’re right.” Butch and the mailman knelt on the still warm asphalt, amid cases of food stacked between tractor trailers. The man, who wanted food that was perishable, left with the imperishable Bread of Life. The greatest aspect of the Cooperative Program for this New Orleans area pastor is not the financial gifts for pastors and churches, the Disaster Relief kitchens that … [Read more...]

HOUSTON – The 650 members of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church West, who meet at 1 p.m. each Sunday at First Baptist Houston, have a new pastor and are looking for a church building they can call ‘home.’ HOUSTON – The 650 members of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church West, who meet at 1 p.m. each Sunday at First Baptist Houston, have a new pastor and are looking for a church building they can call ‘home.’ The numbers of Franklin Avenue members who meet at 1p.m. the first and third Sunday of each month at Istrouma Baptist in Baton Rouge have fallen to about 300; many members have returned to New Orleans or moved elsewhere. The 1,300 or more members of Franklin Avenue who meet at 7:30 a.m. each Sunday at First Baptist New Orleans are looking forward to getting back in their own building, but new mold recently was discovered, which has delayed the renovation project. Fred Luter, pastor of what pre-Katrina was the largest (about 6,000) Sunday-morning congregation in Louisiana, continues the circuit-riding role he started in January. “I’ve cried more these last months than I ever had all of my life,” Luter said. “It mostly happens when I travel to different places and see former members of the church. We had a close fellowship; just … [Read more...]