Disasters have a way of getting your attention.
Dylan was one of thousands of South Carolina residents whose homes were affected by downed trees from Hurricane Helene’s destructive path. The early morning hours of the storm for his street were terrifying as 100-year-old oaks and pines crashed down one by one on top of people’s homes. In less than a week, a S.C. Disaster Relief team and our SCBaptist staff leadership team were cutting trees on his street.
I leaned up against a tree we were cutting off his driveway and struck up a conversation. Dylan had bought his home a few years before with his wife. They had been married for less than five years. We chatted about the weather. Then, the conversation turned to God. He was not antagonistic toward the church; he was just not interested. I asked if he had ever turned his life over to Jesus.
He said, “Yes. I prayed a few days ago during that hurricane when trees were falling on my house!”
I explained the gospel, and he confirmed that he wanted to follow Jesus and be baptized. In God’s providence, his home was sandwiched between two SCBaptists.
Our communities are in disaster all year long. They are filled with people who need hope. What if we treated every day like a disaster had just hit our neighborhood? We would look for ways to serve our neighbors and have meaningful conversations with them about the gospel. You never know when one of those conversations may happen on a day when a “tree” just fell on their life unbeknownst to you, and they are open to receive hope only found in Jesus.
The day ended with a block party. We set up a tailgate tent. Neighbors who rarely talked to one another had conversations and were laughing with fallen trees and devastation behind them. Jesus had brought life to the party.