DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas will direct $1 million toward hurricane relief in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The funds will be channeled to churches in those three states that are seeking to meet the needs of people victimized by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, said Charles Wade, BGCT executive director.
“All of us have been moved, shaken by this awful devastation,” Wade said.
Individual Texas Baptists and their churches are contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to the $1 million BGCT gift. Earlier this year, more than $1.4 million was given through the BGCT and its related ministry, Texas Baptist Men, toward tsunami relief in South Asia.
In Virginia, the executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia challenged its churches to contribute $1 million for hurricane relief. The money would be used to care for evacuees, supply at least 300 school-age children with school supplies, and re-establish at least 30 churches affected by the disaster, said executive John Upton.
Texas Baptist officials said they will set up a system involving state Baptist groups in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in order to assure that the money gets to people in need.
“By working with churches and state groups, we will have access to a ready-made system of communication and channels for handling the money,” Wade said. “The people in the churches know the people in their communities and where the most desperate needs exist.”