The numbers are staggering — 19 dead, thousands of homes with sodden floors and walls, hundreds of roads and bridges impassable — but the story emerging from the floods that devastated Columbia and other areas of South Carolina in early October is one of people helping people. And, as is usually the case in a natural disaster, Southern Baptists, including South Carolina Baptists, are front and center in the response.
For every number that symbolizes human tragedy, there are other numbers that show the determined commitment of Baptist volunteers to provide comfort and assistance in the name of Christ: 50,000-plus hot meals served to first responders and mud-out teams within the first 10 days after the storm; more than 300 pairs of boots on the ground representing Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams from a dozen states; a spontaneous outpouring of church members going door to door in flooded neighborhoods, helping strangers drag their waterlogged belongings to the curb and then sitting with them while they cry.
“This is our opportunity to step up to the plate and be the Body of Christ like we’re supposed to be,” said Randy Creamer, disaster relief coordinator for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
“Your heart breaks, because you know what these folks are losing,” he said. “You know that for many, the road ahead is going to be something they’ve never experienced before. Columbia and other parts of the state will never be like they were before the weekend the floods hit.
“If these who have suffered are not believers, they may well be open to something other than what they’ve lived with.”
Richard Harris, interim executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, wrote to the state’s Baptists in a letter posted at The Courier’s website Oct. 6: “We say we are serious about presenting the Gospel to everyone in South Carolina and to fulfilling the Great Commission in our lifetime,” he said. “This flood crisis provides one of the greatest opportunities to reveal our love for our fellow citizens and obedience to the Lord who commissioned us. The empowering of the Holy Spirit is ours to change the population of heaven and hell as we love folks in Jesus’ name.”
Creamer has been coordinating the response by Disaster Relief teams from South Carolina churches and associations, and he said virtually every “trained and available asset” has been mobilized, or will be soon, including two mobile kitchens that were on the scene in the first days of the disaster, providing meals for first responders and city workers. Command centers have been set up in Columbia and in Charleston, and a laundry unit based at a Columbia fire station washed first responders’ uniforms.
Creamer praised the ready cooperation of local Baptist associations, especially those closest to the flooded areas. “I don’t want to think what this would have been like had we not had those directors of missions,” Creamer said. “Our effectiveness has hinged on associational leaders and our partnerships with them and with local churches in the Columbia area.”
As The Courier went to press, 190 Disaster Relief-certified volunteers from within the state were at work in flood-ravaged areas, and another 129 people from 11 other state Baptist conventions were providing relief efforts in South Carolina. Volunteer teams represented North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Creamer said teams from the Pennsylvania-South Jersey Baptist Convention and a team from Canada would also be in South Carolina soon. Both represent areas where South Carolina Baptists enjoy personal relationships because of past missions partnerships. Creamer said about half the out-of-state Disaster Relief teams have committed to stay in South Carolina for at least two months, rotating volunteers in and out.
Eddie Blackmon, director of response and recovery for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, said Southern Baptist volunteers are in it for the long haul: “When all the other organizations are gone, Southern Baptists will be here to help people rebuild their homes and lives.”
The primary focus during the first two weeks was on the “mud-out and tear-out” of homes, said Creamer. The next step will be to transition to hanging new sheetrock and helping rebuild homes, he said, adding that some of the out-of-state Baptist volunteer teams already on the scene have that capability.
Creamer said South Carolinians still need prayer. “Prayers from across the country have gotten us to this point,” he said. He said the state also needs monetary donations to help provide food and supplies to volunteers. “It’s very expensive, but we’re trusting God for that,” he said. “We believe the money will follow the mission we’re committed to.”
Donations can be made online at scbaptist.org/donations-for-flood-disaster-relief, or by mail: P.O. Box 212999, Columbia, S.C., 29221-2999.
Creamer expressed appreciation to the staff of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, many of whom stepped away from the regular duties in the early days of the crisis to help man the Disaster Relief command center in the Columbia office.
Twenty-six years ago in 1989, when Hurricane Hugo unleashed widespread destruction along the South Carolina coast, there were no Baptist Disaster Relief teams in the state. Today, there are well over 100, and most of them have sprung into action to assist flood victims and share the love of Christ.
“Without a doubt, this is the biggest thing we’ve ever been engaged in,” said Creamer. “This will be a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.
“This is what God has spent the last 26 years preparing us for.”