BY DR. JOHN SULLIVAN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-TREASURER
FLORIDA BAPTIST CONVENTION

Sullivan petitions churches after surveying damage from Hurricane Dennis

I have spent the past week traveling through the Panhandle area meeting with pastors, assessing damage and trying to determine how Florida Baptists can help after Hurricane Dennis struck the Northwest Florida communities.

Dennis was not the menace we expected but he did cause problems. It seems that flooding was as much of a problem this time as wind damage.

Our Florida Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers have responded with dedication and commitment, staffing the disaster relief feeding unit and providing clean-up and recovery. Because power was quickly restored, the feeding unit stationed at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola was closed on Thursday. I ate the “Last Supper” at Olive.

Let me assure you, every place I went I heard it said, “God is good and Florida Baptists are wonderful.” Thank you Florida Baptist volunteers for caring in the name of Christ.

Our brothers and sisters from other Southern Baptist state conventions were also a godsend, sharing the burden of feeding the communities, cleaning up property and providing showers for our volunteers. The cooperation of Southern Baptists is something to behold.

A number of pastors have called to ask how they might assist. I think we can help most by helping our pastors and staff who had to cancel services this past Sunday, July 10. I am concerned that our small-church pastors, many of whom are bi-vocational, will be short in offerings. Many of our smaller churches rely on weekly offerings to pay salaries and meet budget requirements.

Also, I have learned that some pastors and staff members have had heavy damage to their homes and must pay high insurance deductibles. Many of these paid comparable amounts last fall when Hurricane Ivan struck Pensacola. Several of the pastors had only just completed repairs to their home.

If you want to make a contribution or collect an offering for Disaster Relief, be certain to mark the check or remittance slip when you send it. I promise to use all contributions to help our churches and our pastors and staff in their time of need.

We are also sending Dennis Wilbanks, associate in the Partnership Missions Department, to Haiti to assess the damage there. One report is that damage in Haiti was not nearly as bad as the news reports first portrayed. We should have a word by next week.

Remember to pray for those impacted by the storm. Knowing that you are praying gives them strength to meet every day struggles.

Let me share one piece of good news. As I was sitting with Bob Greene, director of missions for the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association, he received a call from his wife, telling that his son had returned home from serving our country in Iraq. While he will return in a few weeks, his homecoming is a blessed event. How exciting that in the midst of struggles that God is still working for the good of His People.

No one responds better in times of trouble than Florida Baptists. You always rise to meet the identified needs. That is one joy of cooperation with and commitment to each other. God bless you for who you are and all you do and will continue to do. There are no finer folks in the world than those who make up the churches of our convention. Thank God!

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You may contact Dr. John Sullivan at
1-800-226-8584, ext. 3015, or by e-mail.