Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief
DISASTER RELIEF:
Disaster Relief is a ministry-based approach to impacting people for the Kingdom of God. Our motto of Serving Christ in Crisis has two implications:
- We serve Christ to those persons who are victims of disaster.
- When we minister to persons in need, we are serving Christ Himself (Matthew 25:40).
The goal of Disaster Relief is to provide some measure of normalcy for the victims of a disaster event.
PLANNING:
We offer two opportunities for planning for disaster response:
- Individuals who want to serve as credentialed Disaster Relief volunteers need to attend a Disaster Relief Orientation event. Click the Training tab above for a list of current training events.
- Churches who want basic information on how to minister during the time of a disaster can host a seminar on Family and Church Preparation. For more information please contact us…
OPPORTUNITIES:
Disasters provide many opportunities for believers to be the “hands and feet of Jesus”. Many people have a natural and emotional desire to help other people when tragedy strikes. In order to be the most effective, here are some thoughts to keep in mind:
- Attend one of our scheduled Disaster Relief Orientation events. Click the Training tab above for a current listing.
- Find out where and how we are responding by clicking the Updates tab above.
- The best response is Prayer and Financial Support. Please refrain from collecting unsolicited items and please do not self deploy.
At this credentialing session, you will receive an introduction to the overall ministry of Disaster Relief, 3 ministry areas (Child Care, Cleanup & Recovery, and Feeding), and Evangelism Encouragement. Once you become a credentialed Disaster Relief volunteer, recertification is required every 3 years.
NEW AND IMPROVED SCHEDULE BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER 2017!
Saturday:
- 7:30 – 9:00 AM: Registration/Check-in (Please arrive no later than 8:15 AM)
- 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Training
2017 DISASTER RELIEF ORIENTATION TRAININGS:
Online registration is easy:
- Click the link below for the training you want to register for.
- If this is the first time you have registered online, click the “Don’t have an account? Sign Up” to the right of the “Sign In” button.
- Complete the information and click “Create an Account”.
- You will receive an email with the information to activate your account and register for the training.
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**SEPTEMBER 16, 2017: New Providence Baptist Church, Forsyth, GA
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
NOTES:
- If your Primary Unit assignment is Child Care, Cleanup & Recovery, or Feeding, Recertification can be accomplished at this training.
- If your Primary Unit assignment is Chaplaincy or Communications (Unit 14C) and your credentials expired or are expiring this year, attending this training will update your credentials and cross train you as a Universal Yellow Hat.
Click here to register online.
OR
Click here for a PDF Registration Form.
FEES: Credentialing Training Fees if received by the registration deadline:
First Time Orientation Training (Universal Yellow Hat)=$40, Recertification = $20, Cross-training in another Ministry Area = $20.
Required every 3 years in to remain an active volunteer. This can be accomplished by attending any of the Disaster Relief Orientation trainings. Recertification will recertify you in all areas you are trained in. The recertification process is under review. Once the details are confirmed, they will be posted here.
The prerequisite for attending Chaplaincy training is completion of Disaster Relief Orientation.
No trainings scheduled for the remainder of 2017. 2018 trainings coming soon!
The prerequisite for attending IMT/Support training is completion of Disaster Relief Orientation.
No trainigs scheduled for the remainder of 2017. 2018 trainings coming soon!
This is a ministry area specific training, designed to explain the ministry in greater detail. This training helps to prepare the Disaster Relief volunteer to serve as a Team Leader or fulfill some special role. Recertification CANNOT be accomplished at this event.
ADVANCED DISASTER RELIEF AVAILABLE COURSES AND SCHEDULES:
*CHAPLAINCY ADRT – CISM: PEER (One-on-One): Prerequisite: Universal Yellow Hat AND Chaplaincy training.
*Schedule: Friday, October 6, Registration: 8:00 AM, Training: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Continues Saturday, October 7: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM.
ALL OTHER MINISTRY AREAS:
Schedule: Friday, October 6, Registration: 6:30 PM, Training: 7:00 PM and continues Saturday, October 7, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
- CHILD CARE ADRT: Prerequisite: Universal Yellow Hat/Phase 1 Child Care
- CLEANUP & RECOVERY ADRT: Prerequisite: Universal Yellow Hat/Phase 1 Cleanup & Recovery AND Chainsaw School
- FEEDING ADRT: Prerequisite: Universal Yellow Hat/Phase 1 Feeding
- IMT (Incident Management Team)/SUPPORT ADRT: Prerequisite: Universal Yellow Hat/Phase 1 Training in any Ministry Area AND IMT/Support training AND Experience in the field.
- Blue Hat (Formerly Unit Director Training): Prerequisite: Written Recommendation of Unit Leadership AND ADRT/Phase 2 training in any Ministry Area
(ADRT Training Fees = $40/Chaplaincy ADRT = $65. Additional charges may apply.)
2017 ADVANCED DISASTER RELIEF TRAINING (ADRT):
OCTOBER 6-7, 2017:
Houston Lake Baptist Church, Perry, REGISTRATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
Click here to register online.
It’s a 3 step process:
- Create an InFellowship Login account which will send an activation email to the email address you provide.
- Activate your InFellowship Login account by clicking the activation link in the email you receive.
- Register for the event.
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OR . . . Print, complete, and mail in the following registration form:
None scheduled at this time.
Chainsaw Schools begin at 8:00 AM on Friday morning with registration and conclude late Saturday afternoon. Disaster Relief Orientation is a prerequisite to attending Chainsaw School.
Space is limited and registrations are processed on a first come/first serve basis. (Training Fees may vary. See registration form for details.)
2017 CHAINSAW SCHOOLS: Once confirmed, the fall Chainsaw School details and registration will be listed here.
Privacy and Refund Policy for Training Events:
Your information is held securely by the Fellowship One system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled payments.
You can register and pay online for events by their registration deadline. Once a paid registration has been processed online, it cannot be cancelled online. If there are any problems or questions related to this, please contact the Disaster Relief office at 770-936-5254, pficarra@gabaptist.org, or Disaster Relief, 6405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097.
ONGOING EFFORTS
If you would like to donate to the Georgia Baptist ministry of Disaster Relief, you can do so in the following ways:
To mail a donation, please make checks payable to Disaster Relief and mail to:
Disaster Relief Georgia Baptist Mission Board 6405 Sugarloaf Parkway Duluth, GA 30097
OR
Online Donations:
Click here to donate to the Disaster Relief General Fund
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Visit our Disaster Relief eStore and order all you DR gear online!
Patches, belt buckles, tees, caps and much more!
Only VISA or MASTERCARD are accepted.
If paying by check, Please make checks payable to “DISASTER RELIEF”.
Click here to download, complete, and mail form and payment to:
Disaster Relief
6405 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth, GA 30097
Click here to download the diagram for placement of Disaster Relief patches.
(All forms are provided in a PDF format and as a Word Document.)
- Community Assessment Form – Rev. 01/2017 (PDF Format)
- Community Assessment Form – Rev. 01/2017 (Word Document)
- Personal Information Form/PI Form – Rev. 01/2017 (PDF Format)
- Personal Information Form/PI Form – Rev. 01/2017 (Word Document)
UPDATE YOUR VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
CLICK HERE to update your personal information.
Disaster Relief Contact
Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief
For all Disaster Relief inquiries For general information, inquiries and questions from the public and Georgia Baptist churches, please email: DisasterResponse@gabaptist.org
Staff:
Media Contact
Georgia Baptist Mission Board Communications
For all media/news inquiries for interview requests, event information, official statements, disaster relief and related items, please contact:
Would like to train for this
Allen,
We would love to have you attend one of our DR trainings. You can register online through this same webpage. If you need further assistance please call our office at 770-936-5254.
So thankful for all your hard work and ministering to storm victims. Praying for all involved in this massive relief effort and seed planting.
The Lord bless you and keep you in His care.
God bless ur organization and all of ur families. Denham Springs LA Aug. 13th 2016 flood survivor. Not only did you help with my home but you brought me hope and joy.
anxious to get going member of r 7 mud out and chaplain.
Our church would love to be considered a drop off location for Buckets of Care. We are located at 1360 S. Rogers St., Pooler, GA 31322. If you need a secondary drop location, please consider us. Thanks!
Charity,
Thank you for this very kind offer. We are working with the North American Mission Board to transport buckets from Warner Robins to the affected areas. So we are limiting the “final” collection to one site. However, if you can collect buckets and then arrange transport to WR that would be a huge help for other churches in your part of the state!
S. Lang,
Will there still be a need for Buckets of Care after the Sept. 1st deadline at Warner Robbins drop-off? I would like to get our AWANAS kids involved in bringing in items/offering to help with this project. However, we will not be kicking off the new school year until Sept. Just let me know if this would be possible. Also, will y’all have a drop-off trailer at the GBC in Savannah, GA this Nov.?
Thanks, Sharon Ray, Pineview Baptist Church, Waycross, GA
Hey Sharon, great question! At this point, I’m only planning for this first push. If that changes I will certainly publicize the extension. As you can imagine, flood response has a great deal to do with timing. By collecting the buckets early, we have the opportunity to hopefully make a huge, quick impression about the same time our volunteers are rolling in. If we’re much after the September 1 date rolling out with the buckets, I fear we may lose some of the opportunity. That being said, you may have a great idea to collect in Savannah. Once our DR volunteers get there, we will know better what the need will be.
Thanks. Our church is just finishing a project for the homeless in ATL area(VBS project) & will be making that delivery next weekend to meet with Bro. Matt Stacey (Tapestry Church). I wasn’t sure how much response I would get if I promoted another project with such a short turn around. I told our church about this project morning. I have prayed & feel the need to move forward. I told them as many as feel lead to fill a bucket then that is what we will deliver by Sept. 1st. Thanks for all you do for Georgia Missions Board. Praying for you guys as you carry out this missions project. Sharon Ray
Is there an upcoming phase 1 training near Cumming GA scheduled?
Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Disaster Relief.
The last Phase 1 training for 2016 is scheduled for September 9-10, 2016, in Swainsboro, GA. The details for the 2017 Phase 1 trainings are being worked on. As soon as they are confirmed, the dates, locations, and online registrations will be available on the Training tab of our website – gbcdisasterrelief.org.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Looking forward to serving with you!
We would like to report that the elder ladies ladies of Central Baptist Church in Waycross sent several large bags of knitted prayer shawls, dolls blankets, afghans, caps and baby shirts to Georgetown, SC for the Chaplain Team I was The Lead for to distribute to the flood victims. The response was over wheling. The affected people were so great full for the compassion show by these gifts of love. JOAN and I visited Central Baptist today to give the ladies a thank you card and verbally convey the appreciation from the Georgetown folks. They were so over joyed at the response. One 87 year old lady is now planning to attend Training in Blackshear in January. visited
Thank you so much for the work you did up there. Those ladies are such a blessing in our church here at CBC, Thursday mornings are such a great time here seeing them work so hard to bless others with the talent god has given them. I was blessed to take that 87 year old woman with me to Jamaica on a mission trip and know that she will be an incredible blessing to those she comes alongside working with GBC Disaster Relief. Thank y’all so much for your work as you take the love of Christ to those suffering through tragedy.
THANK YOU, for those kind words and for all you do. That 87 year old woman is my Mother. I’m very proud of her and for her belief in always helping others. Thank you again R.N.
We live in Cumming, GA and need to re-certify no later than 4/4/16. What are our options in the N GA region? Thank you.
Hey Pam,
The best thing is to contact your unit director about hosting a recertification event in your part of the state. If you need help knowing who to call, contact our office.
Click on the training tab. There are two already scheduled in early 2016
I have been with Disaster Relief since the beginning (all the way back to Andrew). I can’t remember or count the trips those of us connected with Kilpatrick Baptist Disaster have made.
A few years ago I was treated for cancer and have not gone to “work”. I have taken the courseto become a Chaplain which I love. I hope to continue as I am just recovering from a knee replacement.
I love Disaster Relief. When I was on staff in TN I had the privilege of working in numerous countries including the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Out of concern for the folks in SC I looked first at our state convention web site. Something I saw grabbed my attention and I have to ask what happened.
2015 – 13 Gospel Presentations
2014 – 277 Gospel Presentations
2015 – 2 Professions of Faith
2014 – 72 Professions of Faith
REALLY ???????? Did we stop presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ for some reason ????????
Mac (Paul) Varnedoe
That’s a great question, but incomplete. IF you look at the other numbers on the page you will notice our volunteer days are 1/10th that of last year. The number of jobs are also much lower due to the absence of disasters that we have responded to. We are most definitely sharing our faith and always will. These numbers only represent our activity during DR responses, and if we don’t have opportunities to respond, we don’t have numbers to share.
So please pray for the South Carolina flood response that we will be able to help people AND share the love of Jesus with them!
As a communicator, I was nervous about going to chainsaw school. They were very patient with me and I enjoyed the class very much!
Really appreciate all the trainers and feeding crew who served Christ this weekend at the chainsaw school at Oakwood Baptist in Chickamauga GA. Great opportunity to get better prepared to Serve Christ in Crisis!
We live in Jackson, Ga. and we are asking is there a Phase 1 being held near us in 2016.
Yes, there will be a Phase 1 training in Covington on February 27. Details and registration will be available later this Fall at http://www.gbcdisasterrelief.org.
Is the convention sponsoring a relief project to help the earthquake victims in Napal? If so, what sort of relief…supplies or monetary? Some of our members were asking.
Thanks,
Jeannette Crook, Sec.
First Baptist Church Reynolds
At this point in time, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief is praying for our Southern Baptist partners, Baptist Global Response, as they assess the situation, determine needs, and establish a strategy. As plans develop, credentialed volunteers may be asked to respond. If you would like to make a donation to Relief efforts you may do so by sending a check to our office designated for Nepal Relief, or by donating directly to BGR through their website at http://www.gobgr.org.
Stuart Lang
GBC State Missionary
Do you have any disaster relief training for beginners available this year?
Yes, there’s one more event that we call a Phase 1 training which will be held in Dalton, GA on September 12. Details about the event and information on how to register can be found at http://www.gbcdisasterrelief.org.
Can you recertifiy on phase 1, if your training has already been expired. For a couple of years. Thank you Terrie
Yes, as long as you have been through Phase 1 sometime since January 2007. And there are 2 ways to do so. 1) Contact your Unit Director to see if he/she is planning a recertification event, or; 2) Register for our September training in Dalton. If you need more assistance you can visit our website at http://www.gbcdisasterrelief.org or contact our office at 770-936-5254.
On 10/10/2014 I attended chainsaw training. The instructor was Carl Langford. I have to say this was one of the most informative classes I have ever attended. Mr. Langford’s knowledge and presentation was outstanding. I have “used” a chainsaw for years, now I have the knowledge to operate one, thanks to Carl and Georgia Baptist Convention. God Bless
I would like to get recertification for chaplain. I would like to go to S.C. and help where needed. ie: food, cleanup, wherever.
Hey Paula,
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to schedule another recertification in time for the SC deployment.Things are winding down pretty quickly for the immediate DR response. But rebuild efforts will continue for quite a while. Perhaps you and your church can get plugged in with those efforts.