Disaster Relief

The Disaster Relief Ministry connects those willing to serve with people impacted by major catastrophic events (hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, severe wind damage) usually impacting many structures in a given area. By doing so we demonstrate God’s instruction to love one another. 


Some key ingredients to a successful mission trip: 

  • We are there to show God’s love to people in need 
  • The area we are working in has gone through significant physical, financial and emotional upheaval. Our actions should always be to alleviate some of that pain. 
  • Flexibility is a key word for mission teams. Lodging plans change. Work for the team may change, will likely change, from the original plan when we left Albany. Work hours may change due to heat in the summer. The key is to adapt and go with the flow.   

The Disaster Relief Ministry connects those willing to serve with people impacted by major catastrophic events (hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, severe wind damage) 


By giving of our time, skills and sweat, we show God’s love for our neighbor.  We also get satisfaction from helping others. 


Typically we help homeowners whose damaged property is their primary residence.  We have worked on non-profit facilities (churches).  We typically do not work on rental property or commercial businesses. 


Our work teams are generally assigned after all other means of support are exhausted (insurance, ??,??) 


We will typically support the Relief (debris removal) and Recovery (rebuilding) phases.  Rescue (responding during disaster) is usually performed by trained first responders (police, fire fighters, EMTs, search & rescue teams). 

Group size may be 2 – 25 people.   


Groups may be formed from people interested in working at the same time.  Additional people may flex to join with a group on a specific date 


Age may vary from 16 - 80+ years (under 18 requires a parent to accompany them) 


Generally work can be found to accommodate a variety of skill levels, physical abilities.   


Larger groups require more planning and lead time prior to leaving on trip.  Smaller groups can be more nimble in their planning. 


Trip length may be from 1 day to a week.   


Less than 2 hrs travel to work (Valdosta, Donalsonville, Colquitt, Columbus) can be done in day trips 


2 – 5 hrs travel to work (Mobile, Waycross, ) may be done in 2 – 4 day trips (weekend or extended weekend) or longer. 


More than 5 hours travel to work (NC, SC, Tenn, Ky) would likely be longer trips up to a week.   


The team would decide how long they wanted to stay versus the travel time to get there. 


Some team members may work less than the full trip as their schedule allows. 


Skills needed 


Skills needed may vary from trip to trip.  Most skills can be taught to willing volunteers with on-the-job training during the trip.  


Typical Relief work might include: limb & tree removal, yard clean-up, “mucking out” a house (removing everything that is water damaged – furniture, sheetrock, carpet, etc). 


Typical Rebuilding work might include: framing and trim carpentry, sheetrock, painting, installing flooring (wood, tile, linoleum), installing windows and doors 


One Point of Contact (POC) with local resources.  Arranges accommodations, understands work to be performed, represents the group with any limitations. 


One trained team leader (Faith Responder training).  This role may handle POC responsibilities above. 


Construction leader - Someone with some construction knowledge.  Knows when to contact local people for help (codes, ??,??).  


Homeowner support – Establish contact with homeowner, hear their story, help with any concerns as works progresses 


Other roles to be covered – Safety, Historian (pictures), tool management, cooks 


Logistics / Accommodations  


Accommodations vary widely.  The team needs to be flexible.  It will not be a Hampton Inn. 


Sleeping has been on air mattresses on school or church floors, on cots, in bunk beds and once in a hotel. 


Kitchen facilities go from none (eat out or camp cook) to full church kitchens.  For larger groups, having dedicated cooks as part of the team is a blessing. 


Some (most)camps have shower facilities, others may require going to another location or a truck stop. 


Some places have tools for team use, others need us to bring tools.  The church has a fair assortment of tools we can take. 

Volunteer 


If you would like to participate in a disaster relief mission trip, please click this link and fill out the form.  If a small group wants to work together on a particular week / weekend / day, each person should fill out a form with the date(s) they can work.   


When there is sufficient interest in a date it would be posted on the web page where others could join.  


In addition to volunteers going on a trip, there is a need for a core group to support church staff with this ministry (match volunteer interest forms and skills to build work teams) 


Donate 


The church has generally helped with food and gas for work teams.  Donations to Disaster Relief help. 


We generally contribute to local organizations to help pay for materials we install.   Donations to Disaster Relief help us do that. 


We have bought the homeowner a gift and help pay for an improvement for them to remember us.  We also give them a Bible with signatures of the work team. 


Food – Casseroles or dishes that are pre-cooked and can be served after warming up reduce the cooking load. 


Pray 


Work teams have done prayer chairs where each team member takes a 30 min shift daily to pray for the team and homeowner.  Prayer from home during trips is always welcome. 

Dates and contact for trips that actively being planned. Names of people who have an interest in that trip, location of the work and type of work if known. 


Click here for the Voluteer Interest Form