Hattiesburg church reaches out to fellow hurricane survivors By Sue H. Poss, CBF Communications

D.A.R.T. page

Phillip Reynolds, pastor of University Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss., leads the children's sermon Sept. 11 about Hurricane Katrina and the generosity of churches that have aided the area. - Carla Wynn photo

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – In a church and a community ravaged but not destroyed by a hurricane, full of their own pain and needs, the ministry of helping others goes on – day after scorching hot day.

The back parking lot of University Baptist Church in Hattiesburg has become the center of operation for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship disaster response in Mississippi.

A supply line has been set up so that those in need can drive through to pick up water and energy drinks, baby and paper products, toiletries, food and some building supplies. And while some volunteers handle the distribution of supplies, others have been involved in debris removal at church members' homes and around Hattiesburg. About 30 volunteers are working at any given time.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, Fellowship Coordinator Daniel Vestal responded to a request by Pastor Phillip Reynolds to preach at the 375-member University Baptist. His two key points to a church filled nearly to capacity: God is at work in our hurts as well as in our pleasures; and our pain can never separate us from God's love.

"I wanted to be a ministry presence," Vestal said. "It was extremely meaningful to me to see the love, the spirit of unity and compassion for ministry among the church members."

"This was just right that Daniel be with us today," said Darleen Dale, a church member for 35 years. "Our church has never been through anything like this."

As soon as worship was over, the supply lines were reopened and a steady parade of cars streamed through the parking lot throughout the hot afternoon.

The CBF Disaster Response Team is coordinating the relief effort, led initially by Ken Corcoran, the CBF Disaster Response team leader in Hattiesburg who serves as minister of missions at First Baptist Church in Columbus, Ga.

Many individuals and churches want to come or send supplies and some are frustrated that their offers for help are not immediately needed, Corcoran said.

"We have to manage both our volunteers and our supplies or we would have chaos," he said. "The most important thing about CBF disaster response is that we want it to be a quality and organized response. University Baptist Church is not a huge church and it has been crippled itself. We have set up an operation and tried to receive goods and volunteers in a way that CBF would be proud of."

For Reynolds, having an experienced Fellowship response team on site was the key to a successful relief effort.

"We realized two days after the storm that we had to do disaster relief and we didn't know what we were doing," he said. "Ken called and said he was on his way with Tommy Deal, John Mitchell, and Patrick Mahoney. They were calm, clear-headed and knew what we could do and what we could not. We could not feed thousands but we could set up a supply line and do debris removal."

So that is what has been going on from the church parking lot for 10 days and will continue for probably another two weeks.

Church members Bryant and Peggy Myatt, Red Cross-trained disaster response volunteers, are coordinating the debris removal efforts. As requests for help come in, they assess the damage, prioritize the needs and assign work teams.

"I'm here working because it's my church, I feel strongly about CBF and there's a need," said Peggy Myatt, a retired high school physics and chemistry teacher.

Benefiting from the debris removal teams have been church members Carroll and Pattie Russell and their son, Lee. Their carport, with their car inside, collapsed when a tree fell on it. Nearly every tree in their backyard is down. Church and CBF volunteers have helped.

"Our church is a family," Pattie said. "Everybody has supported us."

Among those working on debris removal were Robert Sproles and Roy Peterson, who arrived on Sept. 7 from Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., with a carload of tools. They spent four days cleaning up two yards with 18 other volunteers.

Peterson is the business director for the Secretary of State in Arkansas.

"I was asked to help when Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989, and I couldn't get away to do it," he said. "I've regretted it ever since. This time, as soon as I realized the need, I said 'I'm going.'"

Sproles, recently earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and is looking for a job. In the meantime, he came with his friend Roy because "it's what a Christian does when there's work that needs to be done – help others. And for every Robert and Roy who is out here removing debris, there are 20 other people back at home gathering supplies and loading trucks. Everybody helps however they can."

As worship ended at University on Sept. 11, another truckload of supplies arrived from First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., six hours away from Hattiesburg. Church members Scott Smith and Frank Clements delivered this load, the sixth sent by the church.

"Our church is responding to the needs as we learn about them," Smith said. "Our church members back home are just waiting to know what they need to do next."

And the members of University are waiting with expectation to see how the storm of their lives will impact the church. Reynolds already sees change.

"It has been profound the way this disaster has brought us together," he said. "The storm that was to break things apart has brought us together. We have eaten in each other's homes … whoever had a freezer of food about to ruin cooked dinner at whatever house had electricity. Incredible."

"And outside of our own membership, we have reached more people in the community through all of this than any evangelism program or outreach plan ever could," he said. "But we're not doing this to help our church or to strengthen our position in the community. We're doing it because people are thirsty and hungry and babies need diapers. Period."

Any church that wants to volunteer, either by sending a team or sending supplies, should contact Timothy Wood , volunteer missions program manager, at (800) 782-2451 or volunteer@thefellowship.info. To contribute to the relief effort, visit www.thefellowship.info/landing/relief.icm. Monetary contributions are most needed, and the Web site has an online giving option. At the Web site, you will also find a list of gift-in-kind items that are needed. For questions on shipping, contact Laura Cadena at (800) 782-2451 or lcadena@thefellowship.info .

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship's mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Left to right, Phillip Reynolds, University Baptist Church pastor; Steve Street, CBF of Mississippi coordinator; and David Harding, the Fellowship's international coordinator for disaster response , discuss possible long-term relief sites in Mississippi - Carla Wynn photo

Scott Smith, a member of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., unloads Gatorade from a supply truck his church sent to University Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss. Carla Wynn photo.