JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) — When crises wreak heartbreak and havoc in communities, The Salvation Army and Florida Baptist Disaster Relief step out in gospel partnership to offer nourishment not only for the body but also for the soul.
The two faith-based organizations recently launched a joint service initiative to ensure that every Salvation Army mobile feeding unit would be accompanied by trained chaplains to offer the hope of the gospel to those impacted by disaster.
“Chaplains are really the heartbeat of what we do,” said David Coggins, director of Florida Baptist Disaster Relief. “Even though people see the feeding and cleanup, we have a real emphasis on the spiritual component of what we do for survivors and for our own volunteers. Jesus gave us a mandate to meet the physical needs of people, but more so He gave us a mandate to meet the spiritual needs.”
The new initiative was put into practice for the first time after Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida on Aug. 5, and the two crisis response organizations partnered in relief efforts.
“We are excited about all that has come together over the past year to strengthen our partnership with The Salvation Army and believe this will greatly expand opportunities to bring compassionate help to those impacted by disasters not only in feeding but also in providing emotional and spiritual care to survivors,” said Coy Webb, crisis response director for Southern Baptists’ Send Relief. “This demonstrates the love of Christ to hurting people and has potential to expand both organizations’ kingdom impact.”
Dale Simmons, state chaplaincy coordinator for Florida Baptist Disaster Relief, agrees. “This partnership is significant as it leverages the strengths of both organizations to provide a more robust and effective disaster relief effort in Florida and potentially beyond,” he said. Simmons noted that the partnership is significant in five ways: resource sharing, broader reach, efficient coordination, increased support and funding, and enhanced training and preparedness.
Providing chaplain support to The Salvation Army, Webb pointed out, “is one of our greatest opportunities to solidify our relationship and to provide greater ministry to the broken and suffering. The recent work between Florida Baptist Disaster Relief and The Salvation Army is a shining example of this great opportunity to increase the work of Christ through partnership,” he said.
‘Want to feel heard and seen’
In a disaster’s aftermath, community residents, who are “often desperate and at the end of their resources,” gather in long lines with their neighbors to receive much-needed food and water. “Many are in tears because they can’t see past their seemingly hopeless situation,” said Major Leisa Hall, area commander in the Florida Division of The Salvation Army.
Grateful for the food and water, she said, many of these disaster survivors want more. They “want to feel heard and seen.”
Emotional and spiritual care offered by volunteers from The Salvation Army and Florida Baptist Disaster Relief “can provide a listening ear, Scripture verses, prayer and other benefits beyond food and water,” she said. The “ultimate victory,” she added, of these “meaningful conversations” is “when the disaster survivor comes to faith in Jesus.”
In a rural Florida community during the recent Hurricane Debby response, Monique, a Salvation Army volunteer who is trained in emotional and spiritual care, accepted the outstretched hand of a young man who requested prayer for himself and his girlfriend. After Monique prayed over the couple, the man, with tears in his eyes, thanked her for not only being there to meet their physical needs but also for demonstrating that someone cares for them and what they have been through.
Also during the Hurricane Debby response, Cindy Weldon, a Florida Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain, connected with a homeless man who shared a “compelling story” he had never shared before. “Throughout our time together, we experienced moments of both laughter and tears. According to him, throughout his life, he had never experienced someone treating him with respect or showing genuine care for him as an individual,” she said.
Such stories are shared often as Florida Baptist Disaster Relief and The Salvation Army join together to “share a gospel witness or minister in other ways to people” who are distraught in a disaster’s aftermath, Coggins said.
The new partnership initiative, he said, “is a great opportunity to expand our ministry reach.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Margaret Colson is a writer for the Florida Baptist Convention. This article originally appeared at FLBaptist.org.)
