August 27, 2020
By Aaron Weaver
DECATUR, Ga. — CBF leaders are encouraging Cooperative Baptists to pray for the victims of Hurricane Laura and those in its devastating path and to give generously to support future relief and long-term recovery work. Donations may be made online here.
Pray: CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley called the Fellowship to prayer on Wednesday night in a Facebook post as the storm approached the Gulf Coast.
“I ask you to join me in praying for all those who are in the path of Hurricane Laura,” Baxley said. “Right now our most significant opportunity of faith is to pray for people, communities and congregations who will experience the worst of the storm. After the storm passes, our CBF Disaster Response team will work with CBF state leaders in Louisiana and Texas, congregational leaders and others to determine the best ways for us to offer support. But now, we are called to pray for those who face devastating winds, ravaging waters and destruction of property, that just as Christ was with his disciples in the midst of a storm, Christ will be present now.”
Give: CBF Global Missions Coordinator Steven Porter emphasized the need to love our neighbors through both prayer and giving.
“Jesus is calling Cooperative Baptists to love our neighbors,” Porter said. “Friends, we need to pray, and we need to give. By design, CBF isn’t first on the scene, but we do have a strong track record of turning off the lights months after FEMA and other organizations have left. It’s the difference between relief and recovery. As Baptists, we partner with local churches, organizations, and neighbors to rebuild communities, because God transforms communities not only through carpentry and sheetrock but through relationships.
“Over the past week, CBF Disaster Response has worked diligently with our CBF state and regional organizations to position material resources like tool and shower trailers for a volunteer response to Hurricane Laura. Although COVID-19 complicates matters, we anticipate many hands-on opportunities for Cooperative Baptists to love our neighbors. To that end, CBF Disaster Response has met those concerns with creativity and developed protocols to protect our volunteers. But whatever projects we may undertake, your financial gifts today will determine the scope of CBF’s response in the future.”
Response Plans: CBF field personnel Rick Burnette, who directs CBF’s Disaster Response efforts in the United States, reported being in contact this week with partners in Louisiana and Texas as well as plans for onsite visits early next week with mobilization of resources to follow. This is when short- and long-range response plans will be developed for select areas of impact based on partner recommendations, Burnette said.
Please join CBF in praying for those affected as Hurricane Laura continues its devastating path, and please give generously to support CBF Disaster Response’s forthcoming relief and long-term recovery efforts online here.
Additional response updates with specific ways you and your church can pray and serve as that information becomes available.
–30–
CBF is a Christian network that helps people put their faith to practice through ministry efforts, global missions and a broad community of support. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission. Learn more about the ministry of CBF Disaster Response at http://www.cbf.net/dr
CBFblog 