By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
MANSURA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams recently wrapped up a fruitful month of ministry amongst residents impacted by Tropical Storm Arthur that included six individuals who made decisions to follow Christ.
Since June 19, team members have logged 17,863 work hours, served 6,106 meals, completed 194 mud-out jobs, made 829 ministry contacts, distributed 209 Bibles and shared the Gospel 161 times. Louisiana Baptist DR team members were assisted by volunteers with the Southern Baptists of Texas
Convention and Texans on Mission, as well as teams from Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina.
DIVINE MEETINGS
Craig Bond, incident management team commander and a team member of First Baptist Church, Blanchard, was helping with efforts in flood-ravaged Avoyelles Parish when he was reminded, June 29, of the ultimate reason for their response.
Michael* came inside the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Extension Office in Mansura (a temporary rally site for DR teams) asking for help to make repairs to his damaged camper. Unfortunately, the DR team was not equipped to make such fixes. However, Bond was able to offer something much more valuable – he shared what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.
Using a series of spiritual questions, Bond walked Michael through the plan of salvation and explained how Christ can transform a troubled past to one filled with hope in the Lord.
“I tell my chainsaw disaster relief team members all the time that if we’re not sharing Christ, if we’re just up there cutting trees off the house, and we’re not sharing the Gospel with others, we’re just another tree service that’s not making a profit,” Bond told the Baptist Message. “While we’re there to help, we’re there to share Christ.
“In the past I’ve always had this reluctance of sharing about Jesus,” he continued. “And this just helped make me bolder. Disaster relief has helped me to share the Gospel with others.”
Meanwhile, Mike Tomlinson, a chaplain with a team from Live Oak Baptist Church, Denham Springs, saw two people turn to Christ, June 30. During a home visit Tomlinson shared with Blayz* and Candace* how Christ helped him through a battle with cancer and how that same faith could give them hope in their difficult time.
Tomlinson said he is thankful the Lord helped him overcome his own trials so he could share the Gospel with the homeowners.
“The whole reason we are here after a disaster is to show the love of God,” he said. “And we are able to see God work and save someone. We pray that happens on every trip we go on and when it does take place, we know that we’ve done the will of God by helping be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus. It’s definitely the result of teamwork that ministers to those needing help and hoped during these times of disaster.”
*First names are used to allow churches to follow up with the new believers in confidentiality.
