At the end of April, Tornados ravaged the Midwest killing people in six states, and creating countless injuries and property damage. It’s not only deeply changed the lives to those in its path but has captured the nation’s attention with death tolls a little under 300 just in Alabama. With photos of destruction and sadness filling the news, many are not sitting idly by. Many churches have stepped up to help provide shelter, food, and whatever they can do to help.
In Barstow County in Georgia, Grace Baptist Church has become the main donation site for food and clothing for victims. Journey Community Church in Evans, Georgia is collecting water to send to states that were hit the hardest. New Passion Church of Georgia has been collecting generators, chain saws, flashlights, tents, work gloves and batteries so they can help people re-build what was lost. Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church had a drive through line for people to drop off their donated goods such as personal hygiene items, diapers, batteries, non-perishable food and water. The items will be sent to tornado victims in Eclectic and Tuscaloosa.
It’s not all donations, some churches are serving by opening their doors to other disaster relief organizations. Virginia’s Bellamy United Methodist Church has opened its doors to serve as a command post for the Red Cross and Salvation Army. First Baptist Church of Huntsville Alabama is working with the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency to be the site for cleanup volunteers to report.
Florida’s Longwood’s Northland Church’s disaster response team started preparing immediately to head Alabama to help. They even have a mobile kitchen that feeds up to 30,000 people per day. Also in Florida, Good News Outreach Pentecostal Holiness Church has received over 14,000 pounds of food that they are distributing to those in need.
The disaster relief efforts have even unified churches across state lines. Freedom Church in Central Indiana sent a tractor-trailer of supplies to Alabama. Highlands Church in Birmingham will be receiving the supplies and distributing them to their community.
Many more churches are organizing and helping than the ones that are named here. There is one unifying way all those churches and more are benefiting the victims- prayer and hope. Prayers usually don’t make the evening news but they are coming from all of the United States, and have untold results. As the recovery continues, once the houses are rebuilt, healing will still be going on, and the churches will still be helping by providing the spiritual support and community the victims will need to recover.