On the Monday after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the southeastern United States, Jordon Willard and a group of about a dozen Charlotte-area pastors in North Carolina were supposed to be on their way to New York City to discuss church planting and partnerships with some pastors there.
But after seeing the devastation and destruction inflicted by Helene, Willard and his colleagues found themselves headed to western North Carolina instead.
RELATED: For more stories on Hurricane Helene relief efforts, click here.
“After seeing everything through news reports and on social media, we thought it was best to redirect our efforts there,” said Willard, who serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Weddington, North Carolina.
Once they informed their New York counterparts of their need to reschedule, two of the pastors from New York drove through the night to join them in the relief efforts.
When Caleb Bunch, pastor of Levittown Baptist Church in Levittown, New York, received the call that the North Carolina pastors would be unable to make it for their previously scheduled meeting, he was unaware of the extent of Helene’s destruction. It didn’t take him long, however, to discover that the need was so great. Bunch then called his associate pastor, Dillon McKeon, and within an hour they were on the road to North Carolina.
Due to road closures, the journey took over 15 hours, but once they made it to North Carolina Bunch and McKeon joined in with the North Carolina pastors delivering water, food and other assistance where they could.
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Ways to help
For more information on how you can help, check with your church, association or state Baptist convention to find out how they are contributing to this and other ongoing relief efforts in neighboring states, your state and beyond.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Katie Ruth Bowes and originally published by Biblical Recorder.
