After an outbreak of tornadoes, just southeast of Dallas, left the Granbury, Texas, community with more than 100 injured and hundreds more homeless, crisis-trained BGEA chaplains have deployed to help minister to the emotional and spiritual needs.

Crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are deploying to Granbury, Texas, following a series of tornadoes last night that damaged hundreds of homes and resulted in numerous injuries and deaths to those in its path.

According to news reports, the outbreak of tornadoes was “by far the year’s deadliest.” At least six people died in the tragedy, with more than 100 injured, and hundreds more left homeless.

“It’s always so difficult for survivors to comprehend the tragedy of a tornado, because everything happens so fast,” said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “You wake up in the morning with all of your plans before you, and by the time you go to bed at night your entire world has changed and everything you once knew has been destroyed. Please pray for those who lost everything in this series of tornadoes, and especially for the loved ones of the victims.”

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is deploying in coordination with Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, who is also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Together the two ministries will seek to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those impacted by the storms.

The deployment to Texas will be the third tornado response undertaken by the team in 2013, following efforts in Petal, Miss., and Shuqualak, Miss. The team also deployed to West, Texas, following the fertilizer plant explosion in April.

About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team: The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide network of Christian chaplains across 48 states that are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. Since the ministry was launched in 2002, it has responded to more than 155 natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings. For more information on the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, visit www.billygraham.org/rrt. For videos, photos and news articles from recent Billy Graham Rapid Response Team deployments, visit www.billygraham.org/crisisresponse. Ministry updates and photo galleries are posted at www.facebook.com/BGRapidResponseTeam.

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BGEA's crisis-trained chaplains have spent the past week ministering to the people of West, Texas in the wake of a deadly explosion. Thursday, as the town honored the victims of the blast, the chaplains offered prayers and encouragement to the families.

By Kristy Etheridge

As the dust settles in West, Texas, following an explosion that left the entire town in mourning, families are beginning the difficult process of burying their dead.

Thursday, Rapid Response Team chaplains attended a memorial service in nearby Waco, Texas, to pay their respects to the 14 people killed in the April 17 blast.

The 10 crisis-trained Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chaplains deployed to West have had a gentle presence in the community for the past week. They’ve prayed with more than 200 people in restaurants, bakeries and damaged homes. It seems everywhere they go, they come across someone who is hurting or asking for prayer.

That includes the lobby of the Hillsborough hotel where the chaplains spent their first week. Thursday morning, chaplain coordinators Chuck and Sandy Bender met several family members of firefighters who were killed. They were in town for the memorial service in Waco.

Chuck Bender, who spent 33 years as a firefighter, had a chance to talk with the father of a 29-year-old volunteer fire captain killed in the blast.

“We talked for about 40 minutes at breakfast,” said Chuck Bender. “They thanked us for what we were doing.”

A short time later, as the Benders were checking out of the hotel to relocate to a nearby church camp, they ran into the same family, all dressed up and ready to attend their son’s memorial service.

Chuck felt like the Lord wanted him to share a Bible verse that has been close to his heart for many years.

“It wasn’t me,” said Chuck Bender. “God just kind of spoke to my heart.”

He gently approached the father of the fallen fire captain.

“I just said, ‘These two verses have really meant a lot of me as a firefighter.’ ”

He shared Isaiah 57:1-2.

The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.

Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. (NIV)

“You could just see his demeanor kind of say, ‘Thank you,’ “ said Chuck Bender.

The Spirit of God seemed to be working in that hotel lobby; the Benders had the opportunity to pray with about 15 people there Thursday morning alone. In a town that’s been deeply wounded, prayer continues to lift the people up and show them God cares about their pain.

“God is so gracious,” said Chuck Bender. “They see us praying for them with dignity and respect. We don’t come in, beat them up and tell them they’re sinners. We just show them the love of Christ.”

One way the chaplains have share that love is through gifts of Bibles to the families of those killed. They presented family Bibles at two funeral services Thursday for firefighters who died.

“The wife of one of the firemen was greeting everyone who came,” said Chuck Bender. “I went up to her and told her I was a retired fireman. I said, ‘There’s no words I can say, just that I’m sorry.’ She thanked us so much for coming out. She was very grateful that we were there.”

The chaplains also attended the funeral of a young volunteer firefighter and restaurant employee, Jerry Chapman. For the past week, chaplains have ministered to the staff of the Black Eyed Pea, where Chapman worked. Thursday, they met his parents.

“We were able to present them with a Bible,” said Sandy Bender. “They are firm believers in Christ, and she was so grateful for the Bible given in his memory to them. She said this is what is getting them through now — their belief in Christ, and knowing he’s in heaven in the Lord’s arms, and they will one day see him again. That is the hope they have.”

The town of West is still reeling, but the chaplains are discovering glimmers of hope around every corner. Even as residents approach them on the street to thank them, the Benders say they are the privileged ones. They get to see God in action in the midst of tragedy as they slowly cultivate relationships with the people of West.

“It doesn’t happen right away,” said Chuck Bender. “It’s not instant, but when we’re here, we’re here to help. Slowly, they realize that, and the grace of God always prevails.”

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As BGEA's crisis-trained chaplains build relationships with the people of West, Texas, after a deadly explosion, stories of faith are rising to the surface.

By Kristy Etheridge

Sunday marked the fourth day since an explosion altered the small, close-knit town of West, Texas, forever.

A local woman driving her van through a residential neighborhood slowed down as she passed two Rapid Response Team chaplains standing on the side of the road.

“Pray for us! Please, pray for us,” she said. She never came to a full stop, but the chaplains could see she was weeping.

“The people here are asking for prayer,” said Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chaplain Judy Tefft. “They crave prayer. When one of them hurts, they’re all hurting.”

Wednesday’s deadly explosion left at least 14 people dead and 200 hurt. The blast destroyed a fertilizer plant, a nursing home and dozens of houses.

Those killed in the blast were well-loved in their community. It seems everyone who lives in West knows someone seriously affected by the tragedy. With so much grief centered on one little town, it would be easy for residents to fall into despair. But in the midst of pain, stories of faith stand out.

A restaurant that lost one if its own paused during the busy lunch rush to allow a BGEA chaplain to pray with staff and patrons.

A church located inside the blast zone could have skipped Sunday services, but the congregation set up folding chairs in a field. More than 100 people worshiped and prayed together under sunny skies.

A volunteer firefighter who felt far from God got a glimpse of the love and hope of Jesus Christ as he shared his story with a chaplain who was ready to listen.

The words “Pray for West” popped up on signs, T-shirts, and Twitter hashtags as Americans came together to show love and support for the small Texas town with a proud Czech heritage.

Through it all, BGEA’s crisis-trained chaplains have had a quiet but visible presence in West. The first chaplains arrived less than 24 hours after the explosion and plan to stick around as long as necessary to help meet the emotional and spiritual needs of a community they’ve quickly grown to respect.

“As we wander through the streets and talk to these folks, we’re finding what a tremendous spirit they have,” said Tefft. “They didn’t just jump in their cars and drive down to the next county. They ran to help.”

One young man named Brandon, whose home is on the outskirts of the blast radius, heard the explosion and took off towards the smoke and flames. He reached a caved-in nursing home where employees were frantically evacuating residents and jumped in to help.

“There were a lot of bloodied old people,” said Brandon. “We dragged a man to safety. God’s hand was over this, after seeing the way that building imploded. More people could have been killed.”

Brandon said he had been out for an evening run just minutes before the explosion happened. He had passed right by the plant, even pausing in front of it for a minute to catch his breath, but something told him to start running again. He made it home in time to not only avoid being hurt or killed, but to help save the lives of others.

“God is good,” said Brandon. “He turns bad situations into something good.”

Brandon is just one of many West residents who have shared remarkable stories with the BGEA chaplains. Members of the community are allowing the chaplains to serve them through ministry, and trust is slowly building.

As residents grapple with faith in the midst of grief, the chaplains are there. Sometimes they share prayers, hugs and tears. Other times they simply offer an ear to listen. Above all, they exude a gentle love and compassion that, they pray, will ultimately lead the lost and hurting to Jesus — the true source of healing for a town in search of peace.

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Many residents of West, Texas, weren't permitted to enter their homes for several days after a deadly explosion rocked the town. During the hurried evacuation, some residents left behind pets, not knowing it would be days before they would be reunited. Saturday, a BGEA chaplain met a man who was struggling to cope with the disaster while searching for his lost cat.

By Kristy Etheridge

As West, Texas, homeowners steered around cement barricades to return to their houses for the first time in three days, many didn’t know what to expect.

What they found were caved-in roofs, shattered windows and piles of debris scattered by the powerful explosion that shook the little town in every way possible.

But it was what one homeowner didn’t find that made him uneasy.

Gary* is a West resident who serves as a volunteer firefighter a couple of towns over. After a long 72 hours away from his home, which was inside the blast radius, he just wanted to get back to his house and find his cat, Tiger.

He searched the whole house — all the typical nooks and crannies where Tiger would hide out — and nothing. His cat was gone, and for a man who had just been through the worst trauma of his life, losing his furry little buddy was enough to push him over the edge.

“He was madder than a hornet,” said Chuck Bender, a Rapid Response Team chaplain with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, who spent 33 years as a firefighter in California.

Bender and his wife, Sandy, were walking through the streets of West Saturday, praying for the Holy Spirit to lead them to people in need when they spotted Gary. Much of the town is still without running water. Chuck carried a case of water over to Gary’s house and set it down on the driveway.

It wasn’t long before the two men struck up a conversation. Bender noticed Gary was wearing a firefighter baseball cap. They had something in common.

“I said, ‘I’m a retired firefighter,’” said Bender. “We just got to talking on his porch. I asked him if he felt like talking about what happened. He said, ‘I’ll talk to you.’”

Gary had responded to the fire call Wednesday night at West Fertilizer. The building was engulfed in flames when he arrived. Before he had time to get out of the car, the plant blew up before his eyes. He watched his friends, fellow firefighters, die in the explosion. One man who managed to escape the blast came running towards Gary and fell right into his arms.

“He told me that he’d had nightmares ever since,” said Bender.

Gary was going through a rollercoaster of emotions, from shock to anger to grief.

Bender knew he couldn’t bring Gary’s friends back, so he listened patiently before suggesting they take a break and focus on the task at hand — finding Tiger.

“I said, ‘I’m gonna help you find your cat,’" said Bender. “I helped him make calls to animal control. I flagged down a game warden and asked her if she could help keep an eye out.”

Together, they scoured the neighborhood, looking for Tiger. When they weren’t successful after quite some time, they sat down again to talk. Eventually, the conversation turned to faith.

“He said, 'I was religious once, but I haven’t been that way for a long time,’" said Bender. “I told him I had been down that path years ago. I said, ‘I was in the same position as you. God touched my heart. He met me right where I was, and He can do the same for you.’”

Gary wasn’t sure where God fit into his life, but he said he really wanted to have some hope.

Knowing a seed had been planted, Bender let the subject rest.

“I told him, ‘You’ve been through a lot today. I’d love to come back and talk to you again.’”

The two men exchanged numbers and promised to meet again. Bender could tell that God had lifted Gary’s spirits, even though Tiger was still missing.

“When I left him, he was laughing and he was smiling,” said Bender.

As he walked down the road, he said a silent prayer for Gary — and Tiger.

“I prayed, ‘Father, calm his spirit and his heart. Your will be done, Father, but if that cat could come back, that’d be amazing.’”

Bender and the rest of the Rapid Response chaplains continued their day, talking and praying with the people of West. After the sun went down, the chaplains piled into their cars, hungry and exhausted, and went to find some supper.

Bender was at the dinner table inside a crowded, noisy restaurant, when he just barely heard his cell phone ring. It was Gary.

With mouths half full, the other chaplains turned towards Bender as he shouted three sweet words across the table:

“The cat’s back!”

The chaplains erupted in cheers. After witnessing so much devastation, it was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

The Lord had answered a simple, heartfelt prayer. In the process, a seed had been planted.

“You just turn the soil,” said Bender. “I don’t know what will happen next. It’s the Holy Spirit who works, not me. I’m just the mouthpiece.”

Bender plans to go back and visit Gary again very soon. In the meantime, he’s thanking the Lord for an answered prayer and a sweet reunion.

Gary has a long road ahead, but he's found a glimmer of hope, and that’s a start.


*Name has been changed to protect privacy

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Ten BGEA chaplains have deployed to the small town of West, Texas following a deadly fertilizer plant explosion that has rocked the community physically and spiritually. During their first full day in West, chaplains prayed with law enforcement officers, residents, and restaurant employees who lost one of their own.

By Kristy Etheridge

When a group of crisis-trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association arrived just outside West, Texas Thursday night, they knew they would come across people affected by the deadly explosion that shook the region only 24 hours earlier.

They just didn’t know their first encounter would happen so soon.

Hoping to grab a bite to eat, the Rapid Response Team chaplains surveyed dozens of brightly lit restaurant signs off Interstate 35 in Hillsboro. For some reason, The Black Eyed Pea seemed to stand out.

“That was definitely a God incidence of ‘ministry-on-the-way,’ ” said BGEA chaplain coordinator Sandy Bender. “We could have chosen several restaurants in the area, and that’s where we were led to go.”

Inside, Bender and her husband, Chuck, quickly realized they had been placed right in the midst of heartbreaking grief.

The employees of The Black Eyed Pea had lost one of their own — a 26-year-old man who had worked at the restaurant for the better part of seven years. Jerry Chapman was killed while responding to the fire-turned-explosion at West Fertilizer as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. His death left his coworkers, including his devastated girlfriend, reeling.

“They were all grieving,” said Sandy Bender. “It had just been 24 hours, and they were there at work.”

A young restaurant employee named Mindy told the chaplains what happened. They began to get to know each other over dinner. When it was time to call it a night, Mindy asked if they would come back the next day.

“They were in real need,” said Sandy Bender. “They asked us to come back and do a prayer in the morning for them before they started their work day.”

Friday morning, before the restaurant opened its doors to the public, the chaplains returned. One by one, a dozen employees appeared from behind kitchen doors and circled up in the dining room, hand-in-hand.

“We were sent here for you,” said chaplain coordinator Desi Perez. “Please, don’t deny us the chance to help. We are available to you 24/7.”

Heads bowed as the chaplains began to pray for the staff in the name of Jesus. A tear made a tiny splash on the tiled floor as Chapman’s girlfriend remembered the kind, generous man who had always made her laugh.

“We were able to minister to his girlfriend and all of his coworkers,” said Sandy Bender. “We cried and held them and prayed for them. We told them it’s going to be a rough road ahead, but the Lord is with them, and He will hold them by the hand and take them along this journey.”

Throughout the day, the chaplains stumbled upon one divine appointment after another. A man named Jack, who had been knocked off his feet by the blast, just needed an ear to listen and some words of encouragement.

“He was at his wit’s end,” said Sandy Bender. “He was very frustrated. He’s never experienced anything like this. He’s going through stages of grief and stress and trauma and loss.”

When she offered to pray for him, his answer was a resounding, “Yes!”

“We prayed the Lord would give him strength and patience,” said Sandy Bender. “We prayed for his health. We thanked the Lord that he was saved from the blast.”

Perhaps no one is experiencing quite as much grief as the first responders who lost so many of their own. Firefighters, EMTs and law enforcement officers continue to work around the clock in the small, closely-knit Texas town, and they need prayer, too.

Friday afternoon, Desi and Carolin Perez saw an opportunity to bless a pair of law enforcement officers guarding the perimeter of the blast site. God used a simple conversation to open doors. Soon, the two chaplains had their arms around the state trooper and sheriff’s deputy, who had removed their hats and bowed their heads to pray.

Desi Perez said they were very receptive to prayer and quick to open up to the chaplains after hearing they were part of a Billy Graham ministry.

“They were thankful,” he said.

Back at the Black Eyed Pea, there was also a sense of thankfulness towards the little group of strangers that came through the door carrying the love of Jesus.

“It was no mistake, you walking in here,” Mindy told the chaplains. “God has His hand on all of us. He saw us hurting, and He sent people.”

“I agree absolutely on that,” said Sandy Bender. “We needed to be there. It was a God-ordained appointment. He led us there, and we’ll be going back.”

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Phil and Pam Rhodes have served with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Rapid Response Team since 2005. The couple has prayed with hurting people across the U.S. and beyond. Now, the Rhodes need prayer as Phil battles cancer.

By Kristy Etheridge

Phil and Pam Rhodes haven’t taken a vacation since 2005.

The Tracy, Calif., couple has spent the last eight years ministering to people in the aftermath of fires, floods, tornadoes, and shootings.

“We’ve been in some situations we probably shouldn’t have been in,” said Phil Rhodes. “The Lord said, ‘Be strong and courageous.’ ”

And Phil and Pam know their strength and courage doesn’t come from themselves.

“It’s not us,” said Pam Rhodes. “It’s not any man or woman that brings fruitfulness to this ministry. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Working in that power, The Rhodes have traveled coast to coast with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team (RRT), witnessing God’s love and faithfulness during humanity’s darkest hours.

Hurricane Katrina. Virginia Tech. Joplin, Missouri. The Haiti earthquake. The Aurora, Colo., shooting.

These are a few of the tragedies Phil and Pam have confronted together.

It would be easy to praise the husband and wife chaplain team for having the faith to stare evil and despair between the eyes, time and again, but Phil and Pam say that would be a big mistake. They insist on giving every ounce of glory to God.

“We are just very, very, very common folk with nothing special about us.” said Phil. “I used to rely on my own strength and have since come to realize that it’s God who provides everything.”

Inside Prison Walls

Phil and Pam’s ministry didn’t begin in the flooded streets of New Orleans or the rubble of tornado-ravaged Joplin. It began within the thick walls of the California prison system. The couple spent a combined total of 57 years working for California Dept. of Corrections — experience that served them well once they discovered their calling as RRT chaplains.

Pam says the truth of Ephesians 2:10 is evident in their lives. It reads, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

“He did have it prepared in advance for us to do,” said Pam. “It’s been such a blessing.”

Working in the prison system put Pam and Phil in contact with people from all walks of life. They met individuals of different races, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds. It all prepared them for future encounters in the mission field.

“There’s no doubt that way back with the department of corrections, God was working on us,” said Phil.

Hurricanes and Earthquakes

Jack Munday, International Director of BGEA RRT and Specialized Ministries, recruited Phil and Pam to the RRT after he saw them volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse during Hurricane Katrina.

The first word that comes to his mind when he thinks about the Rhodes is “servant.”

“Phil and Pam are a couple that has an incredible compassion for people,” said Munday. “They make themselves available to serve whenever the need arises.”

When a magnitude 7.0 earthquake wreaked havoc in Haiti in January, 2010, Phil and Pam received a phone call from Munday. They still remember the question that followed.

“Would you be willing to go to Haiti and pray with people before they die?”

Phil and Pam had their answer ready.

“Send us.”

“They said, ‘We’ve already been praying, and God has given us a real burden for the Haitian people,’” said Munday.

The Rhodes stood in the epicenter of the disaster ten days after it happened. Through various deployments that followed, the couple spent a total of six months in the devastated country, witnessing “miracle after miracle.”

'Thank You for Being There for Me'

Other deployments have taken the Rhodes across the U.S. to minister to communities grappling with the heartbreak and evil of mass shootings. One such deployment took the couple to a small Wisconsin town reeling from violence.

“I stood in a mortuary,” said Phil. “There were five coffins all open with people ages 14 to 19. Standing next to the wall was a 70-year-old grandpa. I didn’t say one word to him. I held his hand.”

Phil’s voice filled with emotion as he recalled the man’s reaction.

He just said, “Thank you for being there for me.”

Battling Cancer, Saving Souls

After years of being there for strangers, Phil and Pam are going through a season that requires them to be there for each other more than ever.

Phil is battling cancer. Times are tough, but the Rhodes will not be moved. They say their marriage of 42 years isn’t perfect. They just choose to rely on Jesus as the glue that holds them together.

“Coming through this walk that we’ve had, God has called her to stand by my side,” said Phil. “Now that’s incredible, because that’s her call. She has so much to offer. She could do a lot of things. She could speak at conventions. She can sing. She can do all these things, but God has called her to stand by me. It just blows me away.”

The Rhodes continue to serve the Lord, wherever He leads them, even if it’s to a hospital bed.

“I called Phil one day,” said Munday. “He was in the hospital, and his voice was so weak. I could hardly hear him. And he said, “I’ve gotta tell you, God is so good.’”

Munday says Phil went on to explain that he had been asking the same question to everyone he met at the hospital: “What must a person do to see heaven?”

Phil has listened to many different responses before sharing his own: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“My message is very simple,” said Phil. “It’s that Jesus loves you. That he knows your name. And he desires a personal relationship with you.” 

That message has led to new beginnings in Christ for multiple people, right there in the hospital room.

“It doesn’t matter where they are or what they’re doing,” said Munday. “It’s about proclaiming the name of Christ. They do it in such a gentle, humble way, and the Lord draws people.”

Better Than a Vacation

As Phil continues chemotherapy, he and Pam enjoy spending time with their two daughters and seven grandchildren. One step at a time, they wait on the Lord. Sometimes they’re scared, but they cry out to God and never stop trusting Him.

As for a vacation, well, that’s not really on their minds.

“There’s no vacation, there’s nothing on this earth that can compare with loving the Lord,” said Pam.

Phil echoes his wife’s words.

“True joy comes from loving God, which is the greatest commandment, and serving others,” he said. “That is our cruise ship. That is our Disneyland.”

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Providing emotional and spiritual care to those hurting in Hattiesburg, Miss., Rapid Response Team chaplains learned that their best-laid plans are not always God's plans for ministry.

By Trevor Freeze

When chaplain Lewis Culpepper went to deliver a Bible to one of the homeowners he had been ministering to in the Hattiesburg, Miss., aftermath, he was a little disappointed no one came to the door.

Hmmm. How’s that saying go? “When God closes a door…”

“The lady next door was washing her car,” said Lewis, one of 10 Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains ministering in the Hattiesburg area.

And so just like so many chaplain before him — who have gone out with one mission in mind only to have their best-laid plans changed at the last minute — Lewis took the opportunity to talk to the woman spiffing up her automobile.

It started off with small talk, but soon enough the conversation started heading down a spiritual path.

“We got talking about her faith,” Lewis said. “She said she wanted to be a Christian but was struggling with how to do that.”

If you don’t know much about the ministry of the Rapid Response Team, know this: They are there to be an encouragement and support through prayer and listening, but most chaplains have a heart to hear the line that Culpepper heard on Tuesday.

“I want to be a Christian but I’m struggling with how to do that.”

Lewis, a crisis-trained chaplain, took out the Bible and started explaining the basic Gospel message — the same one Billy Graham has preached all across the world for the past 60 years.

“We actually sat on her step with the sun shining on her,” Lewis said. “We walked through the scriptures and she received Christ.”

No, this wasn’t what Lewis had in mind for Tuesday. But God had other plans.

‘They’ve Been in a Daze’

Nearly 1,000 homes were damaged by the tornado that bounced through Hattiesburg last week.

As you drive down the road of Hattiesburg and neighboring Petal, you can’t help but notice the randomness of which houses were saved and which were slammed.

“We’ve seen damage that’s more like a basketball bouncing through the area,” chaplain John McLain said. “We’ll have damage on a few streets for a few blocks, then everything’s OK. Then we get over to the next area several blocks over and there will be more damage.”

The shock, in a lot of ways, is still fresh for these residents, but on Tuesday John noticed many snapping out of the glazed look.

“The people we’ve been seeing have been traumatized,” John said. “They’ve been in a daze, trying to figure out what to do.  

“(On Tuesday) they’ve been very, very receptive to us coming to them.”

And for some, that’s just having a listening ear as the regrouping begins.

“Just being able to talk through how they’re feeling,” John said. “The emotional and spiritual support we give while we’re here is basically being present.”

Wanna help spread the hope of Christ? Rapid Response chaplains have been busy already this year, with deployments in Calhoun, Ga., Hattiesburg, Miss., and Australia.

Recently, BGEA chaplains finished up ministry from the Hurricane Sandy aftermath and the tragic Newtown, Conn., shooting. To help provide emotional and spiritual care to those hurting, please consider a donation to the Rapid Response ministry.

Rapid Response Team Deployment Map

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BGEA crisis-trained chaplains are called to minister in a variety ways. After a tornado ravaged nearly 1,000 homes in the Hattiesburg, Miss., area, one chaplain was able to give spiritual encouragement to a family still dealing with emotional trauma.

By Trevor Freeze

How many family members can you fit into a bathtub?

When a tornado bore down on Hattiesburg, Miss., earlier this week, one family found the answer to that very quickly.

Six.

As it became apparent the 170-mph twister, measuring three-fourths of a mile wide, was headed for their house in Petal — the adjacent city to Hattiesburg — the entire family headed for the tub.

First, the 15-year-old son, Bible in hand, jumped in and lay on the bathtub’s floor. Next, the two daughters, ages 8 and 12, climbed on their brother. Dad and grandmother followed, filling in the gaps to provide a hedge of protection.

Five family members had crowded in. Only Gwen, the mother, was left.

“She was deeply concerned that her family was all going to die,” said Pat Geyer, chaplain coordinator for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “She had just enough time to jump on top of all of them, spreading her arms to protect them.”

If that wasn’t heroic enough, Gwen, terrified of the awful noise intensifying from the winds outside — “far louder than a passing train” — decided to pray at the top of her lungs.

“She screamed at the top of her lungs The Lord’s Prayer,” Geyer said. “So that what they heard was the prayer to the Lord not the deafening sound from the tornado.”

"The louder the noise got, the louder I got," Gwen said.

“OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME!!!”

“The noise was so intense, she didn’t want her children to focus on the sound,” Geyer said. “When the prayer was done, the noise had passed and not one of them was hurt. Not even a scratch.”

Meanwhile, the brick house across the street? Destroyed.

The windows in the cars parked out front? Shattered.

“There were huge enormous things that were blown into their yard — an incredible mass of stuff,” Geyer said. “But in that house they are convinced it was the hand of God who protected them. There’s a profound faith in that family, but they are still traumatized.”  

Which is where a seasoned chaplain and counselor like Geyer comes in. Trained in more than a dozen crisis management areas, Geyer was able to encourage the family spiritually.

"There's just no words that can describe how that feels when other sisters and brothers in Christ come to you and let you know they love you," Gwen said. "While they may not have experienced that with you, their hearts are with you. And they understand the pain and anger and everything else you're going through at that moment."

The reception for chaplains to pray with and minister to Gwen and her family was not surprising to Geyer. 

“You could feel the Holy Spirit when you walked onto that property,” Geyer said. “I knew there was something unique about this family.”

Geyer is one of 10 chaplains currently ministering in the Hattiesburg area, where at least 800 homes were destroyed, and possibly a lot more once the final tallies come in.  

“This (deployment) is much larger than we had originally thought,” Geyer said. “People who live here are overwhelmed when they see the damage.”

One hardware store was completely annihilated, with debris from the store found several blocks away.  Yet many areas along the storm’s path were left untouched.

“The tornado lifted, then it would come back down, then jump back up,” Geyer said. “It would go almost exactly two blocks and come back down.

President Obama declared Hattiesburg a federal disaster area.

“People would look outside and across the street and think, it wasn’t that bad.  But then they go to the next block and it’s horrible. Trees down. Homes destroyed. Telephone wires down. They’re just starting to get utilities back up.”

Continue to pray for Hattiesburg, Miss., as well as for the Rapid Response Team chaplains who have just finished up deployments in Calhoun, Ga. (tornado) and Nassau County, N.Y. (Hurricane Sandy) and Newtown, Conn., in January.  Click here to support the crisis-trained BGEA chaplains.

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After an F3 tornado narrowly missed all three schools in Calhoun, Ga., the principal felt a heavy burden to serve his town. Rapid Response Team chaplains have come alongside the principal and this small community north of Atlanta to share the hope and love of Christ.

By Trevor Freeze

 As the school’s principal saw the tornado dancing over the horizon, this was no longer a drill.

Bruce Potts is the principal of Sonoraville High School in Calhoun, Ga., home to 15,000 residents located an hour northeast of Atlanta.

"I was scared to death," Potts said. "I'm responsible for over 1,100 folks at our schools."

At 11:45 a.m. on Jan. 30, he specifically felt the weight of an entire town’s student population on his shoulder as an F3 tornado hurled directly at the school campus, which houses all three Sonoraville schools — elementary, middle and high.

“It was a big deal in the community,” said Jim Giannestras, a chaplain who responded to Calhoun, Ga., with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “He had the kids hunkering down.”

As the twister came into focus, Potts ordered the students to brace themselves for impact: “Hold onto your books, put your faces in your book bag and don’t move.”

“It was silent in the high school as the tornado went rumbling by,” Potts told Giannestras.

Yes, at the very last instant, the F3 storm shifted course just enough to miss all three schools.  

But in its wake it left quite a mark on this small town, despite only a few intermittent touchdowns. An estimated 500 houses were completely destroyed with another 197 damaged.  

"In the midst of the craziness the Lord spared all our lives," Potts said.

But it also left a city emotionally reeling, including the principal who helped organize more than 1,700 meals that were distributed to the city at the school.

“He’s just been an outstanding example,” said chaplain Sandy Giannestras.

Potts shared with both Jim and Sandy for several hours this week about the struggles he’s faced as the town tries to rebuild from the rare January storm that killed two people in a nearby county.

“He just really needed somebody to talk to,” Sandy said. “He talked about the weight of responsibility on his shoulders and admitted he was really frightened. Tears started coming down his face.”

Potts was excited to receive the call from Jim and Sandy, who explained they were chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, deploying alongside volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse.

“He said, ‘Oh my goodness, Billy Graham chaplains — I’m so glad to hear from you. I’ve got shivers going down my spine,’ ” Sandy said. “He made it really clear that ‘Boy do we need you.’ "

"When they came we were still a little bit on edge," Potts said. "They were very comforting," 

Jim and Sandy will spend two weeks ministering to the Calhoun community, sharing the hope and love of Christ to those who have been affected by the tornado.

“One thing I keep thinking is that by national standard or by tornado category, some may say this is not a big deal,” Jim said. “But to these 700 families, it’s very significant. It’s the biggest thing ever.”

It’s the first deployment of 2013 for the Rapid Response Team after 31 deployments in 2012 — including several that carried over from 2011 disasters. The Hurricane Sandy deployment in Nassau is set to wrap up next week.

Australia Deployment

Rapid Response Team chaplains Al and Toni New have deployed to Bundaberg — in Queensland, Australia — to help with a massive flooding relief effort.

Al and Toni join crisis-trained Billy Graham chaplains from Australia, along with a team from Samaritan’s Purse to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the survivors.

News reports say the Queensland flood levels are far higher than the ones from 2010 and 2011. Local authorities have estimated 3,000 homes and 7,500 people in the Bundaberg area have been affected.

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The "scope and intensity" of Hurricane Sandy not only left countless coastal communities damaged, but it opened the door for more than 200 chaplains to minister — many for the first time — to nearly 10,000 survivors.

By Trevor Freeze

Hurricane Sandy seems like a distant memory to most of the country.

After all, it’s been three full months now since the “Superstorm” tore through countless coastal towns up the New Jersey and New York coast.

But to those still trying to rebuild, the memory of floodwaters rising in a matter of minutes is still very real. 

In many cases, they’ve lost everything. And in some cases, they’re still emotionally and spiritually reeling. 

But through it all nearly 10,000 people have been ministered to by the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. More than 200 crisis-trained chaplains were honored to listen, comfort and pray one-on-one with more than 9,500 Sandy survivors since October 29.

“It was phenomenal (ministry),” Rapid Response Team director Jack Munday said. “The openness to the Gospel was evident at each of the deployment sites.”

Chaplains were deployed in four New Jersey counties — Atlantic, Bergen, Monmouth and Ocean, which recently closed — as well as Nassau County in New York, which is scheduled to continue through Feb. 8.

“The interest to engage with the ministry of Rapid Response Team was encouraging,” Munday said. “The Holy Spirit was moving in the lives of people.

“When I was in Bergen County one day from 9 a.m. to noon, there were four of us who prayed with 35 people at one trailer park and four decisions were made for Christ.  They would see the blue shirts and just come up and ask for prayer.”

Hurricane Sandy was a moving natural disaster for many crisis-trained chaplains, partly because of the proximity. Very few deployments have happened in the northeast, where so many trained chaplains reside.

Within the first 24 hours after the storm hit, more than 130 chaplains — from the BGEA's network of more than 1,000 nationwide — responded with interest to deploy to N.J., most residing on the East Coast.  

And a majority of the 200-plus chaplains who deployed were ministering for the first time with the Rapid Response Team. One of the factors in such a high level of response was the “scope and intensity of the tragedy.” 

“They just felt compelled to respond,” Munday said. “They had been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to minister.” 

The five Sandy deployments — along with the tragic Newtown school shooting in December — ended one of the busiest Rapid Response Team years since the ministry began in 2002. 

For the year, 31 deployments happened in 2012, including four events that origianlly occurred in 2011 (Japan earthquake, Bastrop, Texas fires, Joplin, Tuscaloosa tornadoes). Here’s the complete 2012 list.

2012 Deployments

Japan – Cont’d from 2011

Hickory, N.C. – Tornado

Trussville, Ala. – Tornado

Harrisburg, Ill. – Tornado

Madison, Ind. – Tornado

Henryville, Ind. – Tornado

West Liberty, Ky. – Tornado

Charlotte, N.C. - Tornado

Arlington, Texas – Tornado

Lancaster, Texas – Tornado

Bastrop, Texas – 2011 Fires (Follow-up)

Ruidoso, N.M. – Fires

Ft. Collins, Colo. – Fires

Moose Lake, Minn. – Flooding

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Fires

Crawfordville, Fla. – Flooding

Joplin, Mo. – Tornado/Rebuild

Aurora, Colo. – Shooting

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Tornado/Rebuild

Olive, Okla. – Fires

Jonesborough, Tenn. – Flooding

St. Bernard/Plaquemines Parrish, La.–Hurricane

LaCombe, La. - Hurricane

LaPlace, La. – Hurricane

Clayton, N.J. – Murder

Atlantic County, N.J. – Hurricane

Bergen County, N.J. - Hurricane

Ocean County, N.J. – Hurricane

Nassau County, N.Y. – Hurricane

Monmouth County, N.J. – Hurricane

Newtown, Conn. – Shooting

Interested in becoming a Rapid Response Team chaplain? Check out our website to find out more information about training classes. 

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