When the Boeing 747 cargo plane lifted off the runway of Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport carrying 90 tons of emergency aid from Samaritan’s Purse to cities in China devastated by the recent earthquake, no one was more pleased with that response to the tragedy and grateful for the opportunity for ministry than Jim Oliver, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Roebuck.
Jim Oliver, left, is greeted by Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham on May 23 as a cargo plane providing emergency assistance for China prepares to leave Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport.Bethlehem Baptist Church can trace years of involvement with Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization whose aim is to provide an immediate response – not entangled by red tape – to meet the physical and spiritual needs of people in crisis.
“Since Bethlehem has partnered with these friends (from Samaritan’s Purse) for years, we were thrilled to be a small help,” said Oliver, a member of the board for Samaritan’s Purse.
The aid from the Charlotte-based organization was the first China aid from a non-government source, and was destined for the devastated cities of Schifang and Mianzhu. The plane, chartered both by Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, landed on May 24 in Chengdu. It was met there by grateful Chinese municipal leaders and a team of Samaritan’s Purse staff ready to transport the supplies to some of the worst-hit areas in the region.
“The 747’s arrival greatly encouraged the people of China,” said Gary Lundstrom, vice president of ministry for Samaritan’s Purse, who had been in China since the May 12 earthquake. Lundstrom called the level of reception “unprecedented” and said that the Chinese people were “grateful for supplies sent by Christians in the United States.”
The cargo jet was loaded with emergency supplies including 1,140 rolls of high-grade plastic sheeting to provide temporary shelter to nearly 5,000 people, medical supplies, hygiene kits and blankets. Samaritan’s Purse also had water and sanitation workers on the ground to train and equip locals with water filter systems able to serve tens of thousands of people.
Oliver, a New Jersey native and longtime friend of the Graham family, recalled that more than 25 years ago, when he was pastor of Central Baptist Church in Darlington, he received a call from Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse after tornadoes touched down in the area – and the younger Graham, along with his father, the famed evangelist – wanted to help by working through local churches to assist those hurt the most.
“We have appreciated that so much and for so many years,” Oliver said.
Franklin Graham and his team conducted a major crusade in the Upstate in 2001, sponsored by Spartanburg County Baptists, which the Roebuck pastor described as “a great experience for many who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and for many who were renewed in their Christian walk.”
Bethlehem Baptist Church, like thousands of its counterparts throughout the United States, has a continuing involvement in another Samaritan’s Purse ministry called Operation Christmas Child that sends worldwide shoeboxes packed with toys, Bibles and other needed items.