‘I was blown away’: TN Baptist DR relief trains 400 new volunteers

Tennessee Baptists hold largest-ever Disaster Relief training in state. “I was expecting about 200 participants but we doubled that. I was blown away,” said Wes Jones, Disaster Relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, speaks with attendees at a Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief training session held on the campus of East Tennessee State University on Oct. 3. More than 400 people attended the event.
(Photo courtesy of Baptist and Reflector)

‘I was blown away’: TN Baptist DR relief trains 400 new volunteers

A simple phone conversation between Jonathan Chapman, collegiate ministry specialist at East Tennessee State University, and Troy Rust, director of missions for Holston Baptist Association, led to one of the largest-ever disaster relief training events in Tennessee.

The event at the ETSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry center on Oct. 3 was planned, promoted and executed in three days.

RELATED: For more stories on Helene relief efforts, click here.

Four hundred-plus participants registered for the training led by Wes Jones, Disaster Relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. It was the largest single training event he has led during his nine years with TBMB, he affirmed.

Doubled expectations

Events are normally planned weeks or months in advance but with the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in northeast Tennessee, Rust contacted Jones on Monday (Sept. 30) to see if he could lead an event three days later.

Jones didn’t hesitate and agreed to lead an Introduction to Disaster Relief and Flood Recovery classes. “I was expecting about 200 participants but we doubled that. I was blown away,” he said.

To read full story, click here. 

EDITOR NOTE — This story was written by Lonnie Wilkey and originally published by the Baptist and Reflector, newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. 

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