Bettendorf, Iowa | Illinois Baptists reached out to officials with the Iowa convention to offer help as they are rebuilding their disaster relief teams. In the first shared event, 39 people were trained in disaster relief ministry at First Baptist Church, Bettendorf, on February 24. This was a joint training for Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA) and Baptist Convention of Iowa (BCI).
The Iowa convention has fielded disaster relief efforts in the past, but volunteers have dwindled and many volunteers retired from service. They no longer have much equipment and are having to rely on other states such as Illinois and Missouri to help in times of disaster.
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) State Director Arnold Ramage said, “Last year Gaylon Moss (Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief Director) and I met with Iowa representatives to form a partnership to relaunch Southern Baptist Disaster Relief in Iowa. The Bettendorf training represents a giant step forward.”
The types of DR training offered to the volunteers included DR 101 (the basic course), feeding (including quick response feeding), shower/laundry, and flood recovery.
“As a result of the training Iowa now has a core group of volunteers to respond to disasters in their state and nationwide,” Ramage said. “To further expand upon this initial training we are inviting Iowa residents to attend all upcoming Illinois trainings.”
IBDR’s Sharon Carty of Carlinville coordinated the training. She said the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa have many flood-prone areas and they thought there was a good response from area volunteers to the flood recovery training. The Iowa Baptists are being led in their rebuilding efforts by Gared Shaffer, pastor of Solid Rock Baptist Church, Wapello, Iowa.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is also promoting a new faster response to feeding efforts with “Quick Response” units. These are small trailers or vehicles resembling a concession stand or a food truck that would be seen at a fair. The units can provide meals or refreshments in a disaster or emergency situation.
The first Illinois QR unit was unveiled at the IBSA Annual Meeting in November.
Carty said they hope to have these units based across Illinois and able to respond within two to four hours of an incident. Donuts, coffee, hot chocolate, bottled water, sandwiches, and cookies could be provided. The key is small, nimble, and quickly available.
“There was a big fire in Girard recently. It was during a time of extreme cold and the firefighters were much in need of hot drinks,” Carty said. She is hopeful in the future there will be an Illinois DR Quick Response unit available to be dispatched.
Carty encourages Illinois Baptists to register for additional training events this year. Emmanuel Baptist Church, Carlinville, will be the location for training April 12-13 with a range of classes, including flood recovery, chainsaw crews, shower/laundry, and childcare. Chaplains will be trained starting on Friday, April 12.
Another training will be offered at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, Jacksonville, on May 18.
The DR 101 course may also be taken online prior to the more advanced specialized training areas. For more information check the website.
Richard Nations is Associational Mission Strategist for Sandy Creek Baptist Association.