Arnold Ramage
Arnold Ramage, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) State Director, will be stepping down from his position effective September 30 due to health challenges. Shannon Ford, IBSA Mission Director, made the announcement to IBDR volunteers in an email on September 25. “Arnold has brought management skills and the heart of a chaplain to his responsibilities,” wrote Ford. “Thank you for your faithful service to our Lord.”
Ramage joined the IBSA staff as IBDR State Director in January 2023. “Serving as director affords me the opportunity to share my enthusiasm and desire to help survivors during the worst days of their lives,” he said upon being named state director.
Over his term, Ramage has led IBDR volunteers through responses in Texas to severe flooding, Georgia and North Carolina to Hurricane Helene, flood and tornado recovery efforts in Iowa and Missouri, ice storm recovery efforts in southern Illinois, and numerous other responses within the state of Illinois.
IBDR State Director Arnold Ramage leads the IBDR 40th Anniversary Celebration held April 15, 2023 at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville.
Looking ahead at the future of Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief, Ford wrote, “We will appoint an interim director and begin seeking our next director to help organize, guide, and promote IBDR. … We rely on Him to lead us as we seek to provide Help, Healing, and Hope in Crisis.”
Before becoming state director, Ramage served as an IBDR chaplain and led training for new IBDR workers. He and his wife, Paula, have been disaster relief volunteers since their first callout when Hurricane Harvey hit East Texas in 2017.
Retired from business leadership, Ramage is a member Cornerstone Baptist Church in Marion.
IBDR has nearly 500 trained volunteers who serve on chainsaw and flood recovery teams, with shower, laundry, and food service, and at every callout, as chaplains. IBDR is a partner with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, part of the SBC’s Send Relief compassion ministry. It is the third largest disaster relief organization, after the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
IBDR is a volunteer organization ministering with the Illinois Baptist State Association.