Florida Baptist Disaster Relief
Our Objective:
To serve others in the name of Jesus Christ by meeting the physical and spiritual needs of individuals and communities suffering in times of disaster.
Florida Baptist Disaster Relief is one of 39 Southern Baptist Convention response organizations based in North America. The state-based teams respond to disasters in the United States and around the world.
Florida Baptist disaster relief efforts are made possible through Florida Baptist Convention funds, donations from Florida Baptists, Southern Baptist direct donations and a partnership agreement with other volunteer organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
The Southern Baptist disaster relief is the second largest US disaster relief organization (second only to the American Red Cross) in terms of the number of available volunteers and the amount of available equipment to respond to a disaster.
The Southern Baptist Convention and the American Red Cross have had a formal disaster relief partnership for many years. Since Hurricane Hugo, Southern Baptist disaster relief mobile kitchens have prepared more than 70% of the meals served by the American Red Cross.
NFBN Disaster Relief Ministry
We are working to be prepared in the event of the next local or regional disaster. Training is available in the following areas on an annual basis:
- Mass Feeding
- Cleanup & Recovery
- Temporary Childcare
- Emergency Communication
- Spiritual Care
- Water Purification
Returning volunteers need to be re-trained every 3 years.
History of NFBN Disaster Relief Ministy
September 16, 2008, the Administrative Board of North Florida Baptist Network voted to enter into an agreement with the Florida Baptist Convention (FBC) to provide Disaster Relief Ministry. This agreement will offer us opportunity to provide services in the event of a disaster not only in our local association but in areas where the FBC is called upon to assist with recovery & clean-up, feeding, child care, and spiritual care.
In addition, we have been given a 6’ X 10’ enclosed trailer to house our D/R equipment. The trailer houses chain saws, shovels, rakes, blue roof material, a generator and other items needed to assist victims of disasters. In recent memory we have in our geographical area experienced wild fires, tornadoes on 2 occasions, tropical storms, and the ever present danger of hurricanes. We are no strangers to natural disasters. We have 65 persons in our Network trained to do D/R ministry and look to train more in the near future. We are assimilating into teams and we have a local D/R Coordinator to mobilize us when the need arises.