NEW ORLEANS – Even before out-of-area law enforcement personnel began gathering at the headquarters of Troop B in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the church across the parking lot had offered use of its building for housing, showers and three meals a day for what ended up being about 500 men.
By Karen L. Willoughby
Managing editor
NEW ORLEANS – Even before out-of-area law
enforcement personnel began gathering at the headquarters of Troop B in
the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the church across the
parking lot had offered use of its building for housing, showers and
three meals a day for what ended up being about 500 men.
Williams Boulevard Baptist Church was one of several Southern Baptist
churches large and small that were in the right place at the right time
to help minister to the needs of Katrina victims and First Responders.
Their churches will never be the same, and that’s a good thing, pastors say.
“We’ve still got a lot of people coming who came
during the storm, including several Catholics,” said Jim Caldwell,
pastor of Riverside Baptist in River Ridge. “They’re still a bit leery
of us, I think, but they see something different here.”
The First Responder ministry Global Impact parked a
pickup truck at Riverside, where pre-Katrina about 200 people attended
Sunday worship, and asked if they could distribute food and water at
the church.
“That’s what the Lord had already shown me we were
going to do,” Caldwell said. “We’re in a perfect location – a main
highway, and beside the Mississippi River. I knew our church would be a
focal point.”
Before long, a biker’s ministry also was on site,
providing hot meals, and later a charismatic church joined in.
“We just pulled together anyone who loved Jesus,”
Caldwell said. They started eight days after the storm, and ran full
bore until the first of November.
Jay Adkins, pastor at First Baptist Westwego, where
pre-Katrina about 85 people worshipped, called NAMB the day after
Katrina to request a feeding unit on his property. Two Georgia units
combined their efforts and over a two-month period fed more than
450,000 meals to Katrina victims and military units that were
protecting them.
“It was a fantastic time in the life of our church
to see the ministry take place and people start to come out of their
homes,” Adkins said. “The hand of God was just so powerful at that
time. … Some of our most active members now didn’t go to church
before the storm.
“There are so many stories,” the pastor continued.
“I was able to do an interview on All Things Considered [radio program]
and they let me talk about Jesus.
“It’s been amazing, the opportunities that the Lord
has given the church to share the love of Christ,” Atkins continued.
“Literally it’s like He’s thrown the doors open and said, ‘Here’s your
chance; are you going to take it?’”
Read the Message in the weeks ahead to see how God has and is working through the devastating storms of 2005.