This past weekend, our community, like many others, was impacted by Hurricane Florence. By God’s grace we have not been devastated to the level others have experienced, but we couldn’t meet in person. Instead, I was able to take to Facebook Live and share a message with the community that way. Here’s what I shared as the storm raged around the region. Thanks for reading.
A Message for a Stormy Day
Well, good morning. For many of you, good rainy morning. My name is Jonathan Waits and I have the privilege of serving as the pastor of First Baptist Oakboro.
I don’t know about you, but it’s been rainy here the last couple of days. Actually, for a whole lot of folks in this region, “rainy” doesn’t begin to cover it. Florence has given us the kind of rain that would have given Noah some much-needed relief after building a boat for 100 years. We’ve had the kind of rain that will leave people’s land and lives devastated for a long time. It’s the most rain this nation has seen since Hurricane Harvey dumped part of the ocean on southeast Texas last year. Like that one, this terrible storm has already claimed a few lives. Those grieving families are in need of your prayers. And if you want to give toward the relief efforts that are already underway, consider one of the many faith groups with ready-made armies of volunteers who are knowledgeable and skilled in the various aspects of disaster relief—groups like Samaritan’s Purse and the Southern Baptist Convention (specifically, the Baptist State Conventions of North and South Carolina, and the Baptist General Association of Virginia). You can go directly to their websites and give or sign up to volunteer just as easily. Read the rest…
