NASHVILLE (BP) — The winter weather currently sweeping into the Midwest and expected across the South later this week has Southern Baptists responding and preparing for how to help others through the cold, snow and possible freezing rain or sleet.

Pat Findley led his church, First Baptist in Clinton, Mo., last year to use its historic location adjacent to the town square as a warming center for the homeless or those without power.

A severe cold snap last year prompted the pastor to reach out to Henry County authorities and establish the warming center within 48 hours. The church had moved to a different location outside of town about nine years earlier but maintained office space, a gym and fellowship hall in its previous spot.

The center works in cooperation with Henry County Emergency Management and Project Homeless, an initiative backed by several local churches. It maintains hours overnight when similar services offered at the library, community center and senior center aren’t available.

“Between last year and this year, God has blessed the warming center to open up the hearts of our community,” said Findley, in his second year as pastor. “During our time with these folks we’ve gotten to know them and love to serve them.”

Church member Celia Harmon is the programming coordinator for the warming center. It is open from 6 p.m.-8 a.m. on nights when temperatures are forecast to go below 20 degrees. Between two and six people are on staff at all times.

“We have some serving as ‘encouragers’ whose primary job is to get to know them,” she said. “You would think things get quiet overnight, but many of them don’t go by a standard schedule. There is constant activity and you get to talk to them, find out where they are in their faith and tell them about the Lord.”

Several of the overnight guests have accepted invitations to attend the Celebrate Recovery meetings held at the other location, she added.

The sign going into Clinton reports the population at 9,000, though the number has grown somewhat. Many wouldn’t expect a town that small to include homelessness.

It does, but there are also churches and others working together to meet needs.

“One of our guests said they wished they could take a shower,” he said. “I called Justin Wright, pastor of Allen Street Baptist Church, about it and he immediately set up their church’s shower for it. I asked a local laundromat if we could bring people there to clean their clothes and they said they could at a reduced fee.”

When nearly a foot of snow piled up around Beacon Church on the west side of Cincinnati, Pastor Fran Transcritti sent out a text asking if anyone needed help. Two did.

“For most of our people, the snow was overwhelming,” he told Baptist Press Tuesday (Jan. 7). “Many have families to help them shovel, but these two ladies didn’t.”

He and several men from the church went and cleared a path for the widows.

“We had a great morning getting to minister to others, loving them and being the church,” he said.

A blocked driveway means the women may not have been able to leave for food or doctor appointments, he explained. With temperatures remaining below freezing, the snow won’t be melting anytime soon.

“We typically get 24 inches of snow over the course of the year,” said Transcritti. “So this, alone, got us halfway there.”

Snow hasn’t hit northern Alabama yet, but Rick Cantrell and his guys at Brownsboro Baptist Church are always prepared.

For many years the church has maintained a firewood ministry, splitting up logs provided by a local tree service and making them available to those who either can’t cut their own or afford it.

“It’s very beneficial to the people,” he said. “There has definitely been a bigger demand recently, with the forecast for cold and snow. We typically have more wood left than we do now, so we’ll need to have another splitting day soon.

“Fortunately, we had enough to meet demand for the moment.”

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was closed for the second day on Tuesday as Kansas City continues to dig out from the weekend snow.

Students adjusted and helped each other with food and other items, said Kody Gibson, vice president for Communications and Brand Strategy.

“Most churches were closed and roads were treacherous, so one family on campus hosted others for singing and devotional time,” he said. “We had several teams serving at conferences elsewhere. All got back safely, though one was stuck in Liberty, Mo., for a couple of days with a student’s family.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.)