HAMPTON, S.C. (ABP) — A Baptist church in South Carolina is looking to help a few families from New Orleans to start their lives over after experiencing the destructive forces of Hurricane Katrina. Pastor Greg Clements of First Baptist Church of Hampton said his congregation is willing to make a long-term investment in these families.
"In six months, a year, two years, or whatever it takes, we can change some lives," said Clements, who has been pastor of the county-seat church about 65 miles from Charleston for 20 years.
Clements, a Pensacola, Fla., native who worked as a bill collector in New Orleans while attending seminary, said he is familiar with the areas so heavily damaged by the flooding from the deadly storm. "I just know the place, and have a heart for it."
Clements' effort is one of several creative approaches that churches are taking in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
While families with close ties to New Orleans probably would not want to relocate to South Carolina, Clements thinks others without relatives, jobs or adequate housing in the city might welcome the opportunity to rebuild their lives in a new and supportive community.
"We are looking for three or four families living on the bottom of the heap," said Clements. "We want somebody who wants to start a new life."
Clements said the church would welcome persons regardless of race, religion or family structure including single-parent families. The church's mission committee considered sending money to the disaster effort, he said, but felt called to do something "adoptive."
Early calls to Red Cross officials and others have not provided the church with a clear approach to locating interested families, said Clements. But the church will continue its search as recovery efforts move ahead. "We just felt the Lord's burden on this," said Clements. "We feel like we need to do something hands-on."