ALPHARETTA, Ga.(BP) — Major hurricanes, international compassion ministry projects and the ongoing Serve Tour highlighted Send Relief’s year in 2024 as the joint compassion ministry of the International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB) met physical needs and shared the eternal hope of the gospel.

Working closely with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) and other nonprofits, Send Relief supported hundreds of trained volunteers in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton who prepared more than 1 million meals, assisted more than 5,500 families with recovery work and saw more than 200 professions of faith across more than 40 response sites.

Hurricane Ernesto hit Puerto Rico in August while a group of volunteers with SBDR happened to be on the island to lead disaster relief training with churches there. Hurricanes Oscar and Rafael pounded Cuba over the course of a few weeks, then the island nation was hit by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake just days later. Send Relief supported the work of Baptists in Cuba as they responded to needs.

Throughout the year, Send Relief hosted seven Serve Tours around the world, mobilizing volunteers and churches to meet tangible needs in communities and creating opportunities to share the gospel.

For the stops in North America — Augusta, Ga., Dallas, the West Virginia Coalfields, Flint, Mich., and Brownsville, Texas — Send Relief mobilized 2,800 volunteers who completed 171 various compassion ministry projects that served more than 13,000 people. More than 220 people gave their lives to Christ through those tour stops.

Internationally, the Serve Tour had week-long stops in Armenia and Cape Town, South Africa. Through the efforts of 68 U.S. volunteers and members from 11 national churches, more than 1,350 people heard the gospel at 17 different ministry sites. Seventy-eight people have come to faith so far through these efforts and many new areas of gospel ministry were opened through the Serve Tour.

Send Relief’s ongoing efforts to respond to global crises in recent years persisted even as some of those crises dropped out of the headlines, such as Sudan and Nigeria. Ongoing war in and around the Middle East and Ukraine spurred compassion ministry efforts as Send Relief met the tangible needs of survivors and refugees of those conflicts.

In war-torn Sudan, Send Relief helped tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict and saw more than 800 people come to Christ. In one project, funds that were expected to feed only 200 families were multiplied exponentially to feed over 1,200 families. The local church, in its extreme poverty, gave so generously from their own crops and stores that more than 1,000 additional families were fed. God is moving in the hearts of believers to love their neighbors in the midst of their own suffering and because of that, people are following Jesus for the first time.

As part of its efforts to strengthen communities, Send Relief helped dig wells in Nigeria and in South Asia, then utilized agricultural projects as educational outreach opportunities and also taught vital skills that helped others start businesses — all while creating opportunities to share the gospel.

Global Hunger Relief (GHR), a joint compassion ministry effort of Southern Baptists, provided funding for projects in nations like Brazil, Ethiopia and Thailand. GHR remains a critical source of funding as more than half of Send Relief’s international projects worldwide address hunger needs.

Send Relief’s ministry centers dotted across North America met needs in their communities and afforded churches with opportunities to learn best practices for engaging in compassion ministry. Whether ministering to the impoverished in Las Vegas, finding housing for the needy in St. Louis, providing food and mentoring for houseless young adults in Valdosta, Ga., or ministering to refugees in Denver, Send Relief Ministry Centers operate year-round to engage in compassion ministry with a focus on sharing the gospel with those they meet.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.)