North Carolina Baptist Men
(NCBM) volunteers respond. When disaster strikes, they pack up and move out.
In 2010 Baptist Men have
already covered 14 different disasters and performed 800 disaster recovery jobs
involving 10,000 volunteer days.
“These are bionic men and
women,” shared a woman who was helped through one of the NCBM mission camps —
Red Springs and Shelby. Her house had been condemned, but through the work of
volunteers, she can now feel safe. “We want to take compassion out into a
hurting world,” said Larry Osborne, coordinator for Red Springs.
With five large disaster
relief feeding units, North Carolina Baptist Men can feed up to 70,000 people
in a day.
In the annual report to messengers of the Baptist State Convention
Nov. 9, NCBM Executive Director Richard Brunson thanked messengers “for
praying, giving and going.” The North Carolina Mission Offering is split
between NCBM, church planting, mission work camps, mobilization ministry
projects and associational projects. “Every Christian is called, gifted and sent,”
Brunson said.
He said God “delights in
taking ordinary people and using them as only God can do.”
Some highlights:
Through Aviation Missions,
more than 300 medical mercy flights have been provided.
Two 40-foot medical/dental
buses have allowed 1,500 dentists, hygienists and nurses to volunteer.
Almost 1,300 students
participated in Deep Impact Student Missions.
Brunson also talked about
some of NCBM’s 15 different partnerships.
More than 600 volunteers have worked
in Vermont and Pennsylvania this year, and around 345 have gone to the Rocky
Mountain region.
The Hawaii-Pacific Partnership is requesting help renovating
its version of Caswell, N.C.’s retreat center.
Since North Carolina Baptist Men
have been partnering with Armenia, the number of churches and baptized
believers have more than doubled.
About 250 volunteers worked
in Honduras and 100 went to work with partnership in Cuba.
In Haiti, 50,000 people have
been treated by medical teams since the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Through its
partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, 500 shelters have been built. More than 500
volunteers have gone already this year.
Before the 2004 tsunami
churches in Sri Lanka were few and could expect persecution. Now, because of
the work of volunteers, hundreds have come to know Christ.
In Kenya, volunteer
teams can construct four houses in a short mission trip.
In one of the most
unreached people of the world and the poorest state in India, Baptist Men are
working in Bihar, India, to help villages have access to clean water. In the
last four years 500 wells have been built. Churches or groups can adopt a
village and provide a well, medical clinic, Bibles, hymnals, and church
planters working with villages.
“God is doing amazing things
in Bihar,” Brunson said.
In 2011, Baptist Men start a
new partnership in Guatemala. Volunteers are needed to build a leadership
training center.
“Thank you for allowing us
to help you be a missionary,” said Brunson.