Stories tagged with: hurricane michael

• Hurricane-weary pastors buoyed by Fla. conv., NAMB

  by Tobin Perry, posted Monday, April 01, 2019 (2 months ago)

  

  Photo provided by NAMB.

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. (BP) -- When Hurricane Michael barreled through the Florida Gulf Coast last October, it transformed the ministry of First Baptist Church in Port St. Joe. No longer could the church focus on only typical everyday ministry activities.

  After Michael, half of the church's families had lost their homes. Many had to move outside the area to find work and housing. The church's own building was battered so intensely that it was no longer usable. Marriages were stressed. Long-held family heirlooms were lost forever. Read More

• Collegians confront Hurricane Michael's aftermath

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Thursday, March 28, 2019 (2 months ago)

  

  Photo by Todd Stone/NAMB

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. (BP) -- "Awesome, raw power. Wind and flying debris and trees coming down."

  Jean Bartlett remembers the fury of Hurricane Michael like it was yesterday. The devastating storm devoured much of the Florida Panhandle in October 2018. "Some of the time, it was like white-out conditions. You couldn't see because the wind and the rain were so strong." Read More

• Church partnerships emerging after Hurricane Michael

  by Nicole Kalil/Florida Baptist Convention, posted Tuesday, October 30, 2018 (7 months ago)

  

  Florida Baptist Convention photo

  PORT ST. JOE, Fla. (BP) -- While Hurricane Michael brought the devastation that so often comes with a storm of its magnitude, Florida Baptists are discovering some unexpected blessings through their Churches Helping Churches initiative.

  "Our church-to-church effort is designed to identify a non-storm affected church that is willing to partner with a storm-impacted church to serve as the point of contact for coordinating recovery responses and efforts for that specific church," said Lewis Miller, the Florida Baptist Convention's west Florida regional catalyst. Churches from other states also have indicated a readiness to help.

  Many Florida Baptist churches were on high alert before Hurricane Michael even made landfall. First Baptist Church in Orange Park was among them, where lead pastor David Tarkington said he and others prayed over the church's response as the storm approached, knowing that they would probably "give and go." Read More

• Pence visits Florida, encourages survivors & DR teams

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Friday, October 26, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  Photo by Sara Brockmann/NAMB

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. (BP) -- Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and Florida Gov. Rick Scott visited Hiland Park Baptist Church in Panama City, Fla., Thursday (Oct. 25) to encourage survivors of Hurricane Michael, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and other volunteers who have been serving the community in the storm's aftermath.

  "It's deeply moving to us to see the level of devastation but also to see the resilience of everyone here and also to see the generosity -- the generosity of the Southern Baptist Convention, Hiland Baptist Church, the [American] Red Cross," Pence said before asking the crowd to thank the volunteers with a round of applause. Read More

• Michael survivor: 'We're all hurting down here'

  by Joe Westbury/Christian Index, posted Tuesday, October 16, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  Photo by Keith Bowen/Special to Christian Index

  DONALSONVILLE, Ga. (BP) -- At least two southwest Georgia Baptist churches emerged heavily damaged from the eye of Hurricane Michael as it ripped through the southwest part of the state last week.

  Reports from the two congregations are just emerging as cell phone towers are slowly rebuilt and stories begin to come out from the rubble that litters the once peaceful farming communities. Rocky Ridge Baptist Church of Donalsonville, Ga., and Springfield Baptist Church in Jakin, both in Bowen Baptist Association, are uninhabitable and will be for some time.

  An insurance adjuster will be on site Wednesday morning Oct. 17 to survey the damage at Rocky Ridge, says deacon Keith Bowen. Read More

• Hurricane Michael: Baptists putting pieces together

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Monday, October 15, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  NAMB photo by Sara Brockmann.

  PANAMA CITY, Fla.(BP) -- Freight trains overturned on the railroad tracks in Panama City, Fla. Power lines downed for miles around the Southeast. Hundreds of thousands of trees decapitated by the buzz saw named Hurricane Michael.

  Despite the carnage, many churches in Panama City and beyond held Sunday (Oct. 14) morning services just four days after Michael made landfall. Mike Claunch, pastor of St. Andrew Baptist Church, reminded his congregation, "Michael came as a surprise to us, but it wasn't a surprise to God." Read More

• For churches, Michael 'like being hit by a bomb'

  by David Roach, posted Friday, October 12, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  Submitted photo.

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. (BP) -- Hurricane Michael damaged at least 50 Southern Baptist church buildings in Florida and Georgia, according to initial estimates, with some virtually destroyed.

  But that hasn't stopped the congregations from doing the work of ministry.

  "Some of the deacons are doing some reconnaissance for us, trying to find out some of the needs" in the community in order to initiate ministries, said Dwight Woods, pastor of Family of God Baptist Church in Panama City, Fla., despite ... Read More

• Hurricane Michael: Baptists preparing response

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Thursday, October 11, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  Photo by KEN CLOUD/Special to the Christian Index

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Southern Baptists are poised to respond after Hurricane Michael made landfall with sustained wind speeds just two miles per hour short of a Category 5 storm Wednesday (Oct. 10).

  The storm took a direct shot to the Florida Panhandle near Mexico Beach, Fla. And it was the third strongest in recorded United States history, the strongest to hit the Continental U.S. in 14 years and the strongest ever to hit the Panhandle. Panama City, Fla., Mexico Beach and several towns in between have been decimated as they endured the brunt of Michael's punch. Linda Albrecht, a Mexico Beach Councilwoman, told CNN.com, "It feels like a nightmare." More than ... Read More

• Michael hits Fla.: DR preps against 'compassion fatigue'

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Tuesday, October 09, 2018 (8 months ago)

  

  Photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- "This year is beginning to look more like our 2017 hurricane response," said Sam Porter, national director for disaster relief with the North American Mission Board, as Hurricane Michael pressed toward the Florida Gulf Coast Oct. 9.

  "The storms are simply happening a month later than they did last year," said Porter, who is coordinating with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief directors across the Southeast and NAMB's Send Relief leadership ahead of Michael's landfall.

  "We've had Florence in North Carolina and South Carolina. Now three weeks later, we've ... Read More