Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Post-flood ministry moves into high gear

A disaster-relief team from northwest Arkansas arrived on Thursday, July 5, at First Southern Baptist Church, Coffeyville, Kan. The church sprang into action on Saturday night, June 30, when the Verdigris River began flooding. The American Red Cross asked the church to open its doors as a community shelter. Church members cooked meals for the shelter residents. The Arkansas team came to assist the church’s ministry and also prepared meals for the Red Cross to deliver in Coffeyville and other flood-stricken communities in the area.

Southern Baptists from as far away as Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina are ministering in parts of Kansas that flooded after recent torrential rains.

A disaster-relief team from northwest Arkansas arrived on Thursday, July 5, at First Southern Baptist Church, Coffeyville, Kan., to assist the church in ministering to flood victims there.

The church sprang into action on Saturday night, June 30, when the Verdigris River began flooding. The American Red Cross called and asked the church to open its doors as a community shelter.

Church members cooked meals for the shelter residents, starting with sandwiches on Saturday night, June 30. The Arkansas team came to assist in the church’s ministry. It also prepared meals for the Red Cross to deliver in Coffeyville and other flood-stricken communities in the area.

Damage assessment is still taking place in Coffeyville. So Southern Baptist mud-out teams from Kentucky and Georgia are working in other towns in that area, including Neodesha.

Flooding also hit Osawatomie, Kan., about an hour’s drive southwest of Kansas City. A Southern Baptist mud-out team from Alabama is serving there. A shower unit from Illinois is stationed at Osawatomie Southern Baptist Church.

Southern Baptists are working with First Baptist Church, the American Baptist congregation in Greensburg. The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board purchased a double-wide modular unit to use as a community chapel in Greensburg. First Baptist held its first service there on Sunday, June 24.

Gifts from Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists and other concerned people were used to furnish the chapel.

The laundry unit from Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association continues to be stationed in Greensburg, where it arrived soon after the tornado hit. The shower unit from Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Association was moved from Greensburg to Coffeyville.

If you would like to make a financial contribution for these efforts, please make your check out to KNCSB. Mail the check to Disaster Relief, KNCSB, 5410 SW 7th St. Topeka, Kansas 66608.

For more information on how to respond to the flooding in Kansas, call Lori Crawford at KNCSB, 800.984.9092. Or send e-mail to