Earlier this month, a team of 26 students, faculty, and staff from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and Judson College piled into four luggage-and supply-filled vans to support western North Carolina in its disaster relief efforts. Partnering for a week with North Carolina Baptist churches and Baptists on Mission, the team gutted homes and distributed supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Bringing unprecedented devastation on the towns of western North Carolina and on neighboring states, Hurricane Helene hit the most vulnerable, catching many completely unaware with little time to escape the torrential rain and ensuing mudslides.
After Hurricane Helene blustered through North Carolina, Southeastern’s administration heard reports of Helene’s devastation and learned that over 250 students and their families had been significantly impacted by the storm. Southeastern began planning a trip in partnership with Baptists on Mission to help grieving communities in North Carolina.
As the disaster relief force of Southern Baptists, Baptists on Mission is a unified effort, supported by the Cooperative Program, that serves and ministers to those in need, especially those communities affected by natural disasters.
Southeastern’s team of 26 arrived in Hendersonville, North Carolina, on a Monday afternoon. There, Baptists on Mission had partnered with First Baptist Church of Hendersonville (FBC) to set up a relief station. Over the course of that week, the team from Southeastern joined the steady flow of volunteers who arrived each morning, divided into teams and went out into the community.
Sections of Hendersonville and the surrounding communities appeared untouched save for the 5-to-10-foot-tall mudline that appeared on buildings and foliage in low-lying areas. In other pockets of the town, devastation was more apparent.
Over the next few days, relief teams set about tree removal and supply distribution. Fruitland Baptist Bible College provided its campus as a distribution site, and there, Southeastern students helped organize and store boxes of donations for those in need.
Those not involved in supply distribution spent many hours mudding out waterlogged homes and basements, removing wet drywall, molding furniture and rotted wood. At the end of the process, the studs of the houses were left exposed and stripped bare, the rooms empty, waiting to be rebuilt.
At the end of each job, volunteers left a Bible with the homeowner, signed by each member of the team, and at many of the jobs, team members had the opportunity to speak personally with the family, listen to their stories and share the hope of the gospel.
Amid sweat and dirt, tears and laughter, Southeastern students were able to act as the hands and feet of Christ as they joined gospel words with gospel work, connecting the Great Commission with the Great Commandment. As these students could attest, in the midst of tragedy, God’s faithfulness was all the more evident — even as His church, the body of Christ, shone gospel hope in the darkest of places.
One Judson student, Luci Walters, described the trip as such:
“It showed me the beauty of people and their resilience to heal in the face of darkness, as well as the beauty of the church and the way so many people wanted to step up and help; it reminded me of God’s faithfulness and the way His gospel shines bright in the darkness of the world; and it ignited a spark in me for missions.”
As the week came to an end and the students prepared to leave, the enormity of the ongoing task of disaster relief became clearer. In the months and years ahead, families and communities will still have great need — not only physical needs but also spiritual desperation as survivors long for the hope that only Christ can bring.
(EDITOR’S NOTE —If you are interested in getting involved in the relief efforts, visit Baptists on Mission.)
