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HOUSTON?The multitude that included Christians, Jews, Muslims and others won’t be wearing yellow shirts with “Southern Baptists of Texas Convention” on them, but the SBTC trained them just the same.
Some of the 32,000 people who filled Second Baptist Church in Houston Sept. 3-5 to be trained in relief operations for Katrina evacuees were Baptists, but many were not even Christians?an oddity, maybe a first, in a Southern Baptist church.
Gibbie McMillan, the SBTC’s missions services coordinator over Disaster Relief work, in several sessions led a church auditorium full of volunteers through much of the typical disaster relief “yellow cap” training.
Included was 5-10 minutes of Scripture-based teaching, said SBTC Communications Director Gary Ledbetter, who attended the sessions.
“Gibbie’s presentation was not denominational but included a clear, New Testament foundation for doing various kinds of relief ministries,” Ledbetter said. “It was a clear reminder to non-Christians in the training of our unique motivation.
“These volunteers represent a broad spectrum of denominations and religions,”
The tens of thousands of sympathetic Houston area volunteers were processed quickly, many of them in place by Sept. 6, sharing a meal of chicken and rice pilaf before manning the feeding units.
After being appointed incident commander in Houston, McMillan began training volunteers offering to help at the Astrodome and downtown convention center. When displaced people were moved from New Orleans’ Superdome to Houston, the Astrodome space quickly filled to capacity.
The George R. Brown Convention Center provided overflow space under the direction of a coalition of faith-based groups.
Operation Compassion drew so many people to the training at Second Baptist Church of Houston that every route for a mile away required traffic direction by police. When the huge church lot was filled, volunteers parked at area grocery stores, restaurants and even a liquor store, walking several blocks to the training site.
Although only Southern Baptists can join SBTC Disaster Relief units and wear their official yellow shirts, a shrouded Muslim woman with a Middle Eastern accent found her way to the meeting. She joined hundreds of other Muslims training to serve with their faith group.
Training held on Saturday of the Labor Day weekend attracted 1,000 volunteers, growing tenfold on Sunday and to 20,000 on Monday. Crowds were so large that overflow seating was utilized at the Houston megachurch and the large number turned away remained for an improptu session added afterward.
Though dominated by Baptists, the 131 faith-based organizations included Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, charismatics, Pentecostals, Church of God, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, Quakers and Mennonites. Other religions represented included Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Bahai and Muslims.
By Sept. 6, the 32,000 volunteers in Houston had assumed responsibility for supplying 240 volunteers for each meal shift at the convention center for the next month. Churches in the Houston area are contributing millions of dollars to cover the cost while mobilizing members to volunteer their time.
The command center coordinated placement of neatly arranged beds, a color-coded shower schedule and a vast array of services functioning when the first group of evacuees arrived.
Led by Second Baptist Church of Houston, pastor Ed Young Sr. told those gathered that a Southern Baptist minister would be praying in the name of Jesus. He invited volunteers from other faiths to understand why this was appropriate in a Christian church.
“In this church we will pray in our way,” he explained, inviting others to approach God in regard to their own convictions.
Young said Houstonians understand the impact of a flood of great magnitude, referring to the 2001 devastation that put much of metropolitan Houston underwater. He called the fact that tens of thousands came together from so many faith-based
