MADISONVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Even long after Hurricane Helene’s devastating winds subsided, Tennessee Baptist volunteers can still be found restoring hope in East Tennessee.

Westside Baptist Church in Madisonville is one of those churches serving as a beacon of sustained commitment.

“When the hurricane hit up there, I called off services that Sunday night and we went to our mission building — which we built two years ago — just to start boxing up what we had, food, clothes, whatever we had to take up there,” pastor Dwight Torbett explained.

As a congregation of around 100 people, the church has placed 45 campers with families — many of whom are still living in tents — as well as delivered 33 trailer loads of supplies (like food, clothes and hygiene products).

Located about halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, Westside’s reach has been felt hundreds of miles away. Torbett said they’ve logged more than 60,000 driving miles over four months.

“We’ve been probably in every area that’s been affected in East Tennessee and North Carolina,” said Torbett. “The bigger cities like Erwin, Newport, Jonesborough, you can see the improvement there. But the rural areas are still devastated.”

Westside has had people from the community bring campers and drop them off and simply hand Torbett the title. They’ve received two vehicles that were in turn donated to families that lost vehicles.

According to Torbettt, they’ve allotted donations of vehicles and other financial resources from as far away as Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.

“If God sends it, we spend it,” Torbett said with a smile. But he emphasizes, “It’s a God thing. It’s not a Westside thing.”

Torbett said the church has had previous involvement in relief efforts for floods in Kentucky and tornado victims in Deer Lodge, Tenn., indicating a history of disaster response.

With this desire to aid in disaster relief, they plan to build a new warehouse facility called the S.W.O.R.D., “Savior’s Warehouse of Relief Donations,” to support their ongoing efforts. It’s work that never stops.

“I’ve got ladies that have been in our mission building six days a week for the last four months, working, packing supplies, sorting clothes, washing and drying clothes, packing boxes, packing trailers,” said Torbett.

“I’ve got other church members that are over there cleaning, fixing campers, making sure they’re livable and ready to go. Hauling them, delivering them.”

The church’s ongoing relief efforts and plans to expand their facilities suggest the potential for the church to continue playing a significant role in supporting affected communities in the long term.

Between the congregation and community’s responses, Torbett said, “it’s amazing.”

“We’re meeting the physical need to sow a spiritual seed,” he said. “When you pull up with a camper and you set it up and you hand the family the keys and tell them, here’s your new home — that look says it all.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This story originally appeared in the Baptist & Reflector.)