Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Flood relief efforts continue

The town of Osawatomie, Kan., about an hour’s drive southwest of Kansas City, was hard hit by recent flooding. Osawatomie received nearly 10 1/2 inches of rain from Wednesday, June 27, to Sunday, July 1. This caused the Marais des Cygnes River and Pottawatomie Creek to flood. The area about three blocks south of Osawatomie Southern Baptist Church was especially hard hit. This part of the town includes Lom Vista Apartments, pictured here. Southern Baptist mud-out teams from as far away as Alabama have been serving in Osawatomie. Meanwhile, relief efforts continue in flood-stricken Coffeyville, Kan., and the surrounding area.

Vacation Bible School, Super Summer youth camp—and flood relief. That is what many Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists are experiencing this summer.

First Southern Baptist Church, Coffeyville, Kan., has been an operation center in that stricken community since the flood occurred three weeks ago.

A disaster relief-feeding unit from northwest Arkansas arrived on Thursday, July 5, to assist the church. The Arkansas team, assisted by KNCSB volunteers, also has been preparing meals for the Red Cross to distribute in Coffeyville and other towns in the area.

Plans called for the Red Cross operation to shut down on Thursday, July 19. However, KNCSB volunteers planned to continue serving meals to mud-out teams and other people involved in the relief effort.

First Southern, Coffeyville, carried on with its plans to hold Vacation Bible School July 16-20.

The church was planning to leave right after July 4 on a mission trip to Chicago to serve with Power Plant. That is a North American Mission Board project that involves youth in church planting.

However, “the mission trip came here,” Pastor Rich Jenkins said.

Jenkins asks Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists to pray for “strength for the people who are serving.”

But he added, “The big prayer we have is for housing. [Coffeyville] already had a shortage of good housing here.”

For more information on how to respond to disaster relief efforts in Kansas, call Lori Crawford at KNCSB, (800) 984-9092. Or send e-mail to