When Hurricane Helene hit Canton, N.C., last September, the community was already reeling from “a trifecta of disasters” over the last several years. 

Flooding from Tropical Storm Fred destroyed homes in August 2021. In May 2023, the closure of the Canton paper mill, once one of Haywood County’s largest employers, left more than 1,000 without a job. Long-term effects from the COVID-19 pandemic lingered. 

Then Helene wreaked “catastrophic destruction,” said Dan Page, senior pastor of Crestview Baptist Church.

But now Crestview is seeing “Romans 8:28 right in front of our eyes.”

Between December and February, the church celebrated 20 baptisms. Page described the recent months as a season of harvest, marking a turn for the church that lost about 40 percent of its membership during the height of the pandemic. 

“The bad, bad things that have come against us have culminated in the most amazing grace of God and salvation in this community,” he said.

Page credits much of this fruit to community outreach in the wake of Hurricane Helene. When downtown Canton and many neighborhoods flooded, and with church and community members affected, Crestview quickly jumped into action. 

On Oct. 6, Baptists on Mission set up disaster relief operations on Crestview’s campus. Church members volunteered to distribute meals and supplies. Rebuild teams have been working out of the Crestview site since early November, and the church continues to use classroom space to house and feed 40 volunteers every day. 

Serving their community in need opened doors to ministry, giving Crestview opportunities to connect with families and share the gospel. They’ve seen growth particularly in age and cultural diversity. A Hispanic couple from Nicaragua and Honduras was baptized in the beginning of the year. A college student has been translating for her parents and grandparents. Page said they are hungry for the Word, and the church is exploring language resources to disciple them.

Jarred Rathbone, Crestview’s youth pastor, baptized five students in February. One is discerning a call to ministry. 

“It’s been really cool to see God move in the lives of our students, even in the wake of the situations that they’ve been facing with the flood,” Rathbone said. 

He said while the baptized youth didn’t originally connect with the church through the recovery efforts, there have been families that have been drawn to the youth ministry because of it.

Rathbone, a bi-vocational minister, was able to take two weeks off from his full-time job to spend time at the church when the relief and recovery work began. He said it was “almost life changing to see … [us] coming back to a community that leans on each other in need. … We’re not as disconnected as we think we are.”

“It’s opened my eyes to what unity brings about … and how the church has come together, working toward one goal of helping the people that have been affected by this flood.”

“Situations like that are evident of His mercy and his grace,” Rathbone said. “Our hope in Him never fails.”

Crestview has participated in the Fill the Tank baptism initiative for two years, and the church plans to take part in it again on April 27. After seeing someone put their faith in Jesus almost every week in recent months, Page is expectant and hopeful about celebrating more baptisms. He said he has found it helpful to focus on a specific day with a specific goal of reaching others and baptizing them. 

Jason Miller is N.C. Baptists’ Great Commission catalyst working with Crestview. He called the church a “testament to what God can do when we say ‘yes’ to His mission.’”

“Under Pastor Dan’s leadership, the church has embraced a calling to serve their community and share the gospel. As a BOM host site, they have played a crucial role in rebuilding lives after Hurricane Helene,” Miller said. “This gospel-driven outreach has sparked renewal and remarkable evangelistic growth.”

“Every baptism is a reminder that God has the final word. Though the floodwaters have receded, His river of life now flows through those who have put their faith in Jesus, been baptized, are being discipled and are carrying the hope of Christ to their families and community,” said Miller.

Page encourages every church and every believer to look for the open door God has given them. He said Crestview’s focus on reaching the community came out of having “synchronized the ministry around the Great Commission.”

Years of revitalization work are “finally bearing really good fruit.”