BAY SHORE, N.Y.—As East Coast churches are assessing damages and cleaning up from Superstorm Sandy, some are turning to Baptist Builders Club, a ministry of the GARBC, for assistance. One of those churches is Calvary Baptist in Bay Shore, N.Y., located three miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the south shore of Long Island, an area devastated by the storm.
Bay Shore and nearby towns were left without heat and power, and the coastal areas were flooded, but Calvary Baptist Church “met this crisis head-on,” says Pastor Zac Sandiford. “As a church we do not have extra money for disaster relief, but God provided and used Baptist Builders Club as His servants to meet our needs,” he says.
Since Calvary Baptist’s bank deals only with guaranteed funds, Baptist Builders Club not only sent emergency funds but also acted as a portal for donations from association churches. All money that BBC–USA receives are sent to the church to help meet community needs and outreach efforts.
In the Bay Shore area, the vast amount of repairs that needed to be made to people’s properties created a backup of repairmen available to help. Through funding from BBC–USA, Calvary Baptist was able to purchase two generators, a chainsaw, a Shop-Vac, and a water pump for its efforts to help others.
“So far we have impacted and met the needs of 42 separate families in various ways—through the food pantry, temporary heating, wood cutting, and flood relief,” says Pastor Sandiford. Baptist Builders Club “blessed us, and we were able to bless others for Jesus Christ!”
Through these physical acts of assistance, church members have seen spiritual needs in its community met. Pastor Sandiford says, “What a powerful sight it is to see Calvary members hand in hand with unbelieving homeowners (in the middle of their flooded out kitchens and dining rooms) sharing Jesus and praying for them. As I witnessed one Christian woman from Calvary hug and comfort an elderly Catholic lady as she wept because of her loss and the outpouring of love by Christians in response, the impact for Jesus is being made and felt.”
“The work is not done,” says Pastor Sandiford. Many people along the coast are still without power and heat, and homes closest to the ocean lost everything due to flooding. “The salt water and sewage has destroyed furnaces, oil tanks, heating oil itself, sheetrock, and insulation. The mold and mildew has penetrated every home affected.”
“As a church we Glorify God, Grow as Believers, and Go to the World,” he says. “Calvary is going into the midst of this and we are doing it with Baptist Builders Club’s help. Hebrews 13:16 says, ‘But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’” Baptist Builders Club has shared and blessed Calvary Baptist Church, and enabled it to be the hands and feet of Jesus to meet the needs of others.
Read more about Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts:
GARBC Churches Begin Recovery After Superstorm Sandy
