On Wednesday, July 6, Goshen was hit with an EF2 tornado ripping through with 130 mph winds. Lake Lorelei and a few other communities were hit with an EF1 tornado. More than 100 telephone poles were downed, knocking out power for thousands lasting days. Aarron Ellerman, planting a church in Goshen, jumped into action and was one of the first on the scene. Doug Sibcy, G3 Church, had been enroute to Goshen to pick up Trailer #4 when the storm hit and made multiple trips to recover it. Phil Hopper, Hill Station, had Covid, but within days established his church as the command center for Southern Baptist chainsaw and feeding teams. Dozens of volunteers quickly descended on Goshen. Even Clough Pike and G3 sent a crew to help transfer contents of Trailer #4 to a replacement.
I’m writing this after just returning from floods in E. Ky. Some 70 Ohio and Tennessee DR volunteers trained in Mudout, Laundry, Feeding, and command worked seamlessly helping dozens of desperate homeowners. Ohio vols were from every corner of the state. CABA’s blue hat, Josh Wright, is leading a team this week. He’s a member of University Baptist in Middletown.
DR response is one visible way that churches jump to help others in need. Look around you at other churches. Nurture relationships to volunteer to help meet a specific need. CABA churches over the next few years need to learn how to go beyond their walls to help other churches whether or not there’s an acute weather event. Associations help churches do more together than we can do alone.
Sidebar (box with DR logo?) – DR Training starts Noon Friday, Sept. 16 and goes through 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at jersey Church in New Albany, Oh. Go to this site to register and find online training options at scbo.org/event/disaster-relief-training.
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