SBC's 'Adopt-a-Church' Initiative Offers Help for Hurricane-Affected Pastors
by Allie Martin
September 28, 2005
(AgapePress) - The North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention is encouraging churches across the U.S. to help those pastors whose churches were destroyed or severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The initiative known as "Adopt a Church" allows each participating church to reach out to a pastor and his congregation that were severely affected by the recent devastating hurricane. Under the program, the distressed church's pastor would be supported by members of another church for up to a year.
NAMB president Dr. Bob Reccord says the Adopt a Church effort is a much-needed arm of compassionate support for Christian congregation leaders that have taken a hard hit. "Suddenly they've had this huge economic impact," he notes, "and yet people look to their pastor as that stalwart strength in crisis times. But a pastor can't be that if he's worrying about [things like] 'How do I cover my benefits?' and 'How do I take care of my family?'"
Reccord says this relief initiative will help ease the stress and tension felt by so many pastors whose lives have been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. "We're asking churches to take them under their wing across the nation and cover their salary and benefits for a year," he explains, "to give them breathing room so they can focus on getting their church back on its feet and moving forward to a hopeful future."
The NAMB has also announced that it will provide low-interest loans of up to $100,000 for churches damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, Reccord says similar programs may be needed to help those pastors and churches damaged by Hurricane Rita.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
