We live on an island. Our location, although wonderful most of the year, sometimes puts us in the path of major storms. When a storm comes we all flee to safety and then return to pick up the pieces.
As with every disaster, there is a relief phase, or crisis phase, of our response to Hurricanes. After the crisis abate we set our sights on the recovery phase.Because of this naturally occurring process, it has become necessary to reassess what
First Baptist
Church’s response will be as we move forward. Under the leadership of our pastor, Steven Perry, we decided to focus our attention on three primary areas for hurricane relief.
HURRICANE RELIEF FOCUSES AND OBJECTIVES
1. Providing spiritual and emotional recovery.
2. Rebuilding the facilities of First Baptist.
3. Revitalizing the community through home and neighborhood restoration by utilizing Mobile Relief Units, and Rebuilding Teams comprised of volunteer teams that are both local and from around the country.
EVANGELISM AND OUTREACH
Every storm presents its own set of unique circumstances that allows volunteers to share Christ with those they help. But our goal is not just to share Jesus during times of crisis. We desire to engage our island for Christ at every available opportunity. That is why we invite mission teams of all ages to come to our little island paradise all throughout the year. If you have a desire to share Christ and would like to come to Grand Isle to do please know that you are welcome to join us!
Some of the areas you may serve: Witnessing to fishermen on one of our three fishing piers, engaging the lost who come to the island for bird watching, Tarpon Rodeo, 4th of July festivities, beach evangelism, prayer walking, community service projects, and any other creative method of reaching the lost for Jesus.
Success
We desire your trip to be successful in every way. In an effort to help you become as successful as you can be while in ministry on Grand Isle we ask you to be prepared for what you may encounter.
Preparation is the key to having a successful trip. Please prepare yourselves for ministry. You can do this by making sure that each team member is ready and able to share his/her faith. We encourage your church to begin a witnessing training class now as this is a prerequisite for summer mission with us on Grand Isle.
FOOD
All volunteer groups are responsible for the purchase & preparation of their own food. Our church has a full kitchen with a stove, three refrigerators, two microwaves, and an ice machine. We also have a washer and dryer with plenty of space to care for your laundry.
HOUSING
Volunteers are housed at First Baptist Church
129 Cedar LN. Grand Isle, LA 70358
First Baptist can currently house up to 60 volunteers at a time. Please check with us before lining up the number of people that you will be bringing because we typically have more than one group volunteering at the same time.
There are some beds available for our volunteers to use (a mattress on the floor or a cot). Volunteers need to bring a bed roll or sleeping bag, sheets, a pillow, and a towel.
We have 5 showers that are available for our volunteers to use. Please bring any necessary shower products, i.e., soap, shampoo, towels, etc.
COST
First Baptist Church of Grand Isle does recognize the great blessing it is to have so many groups come and help minister on the island, but it does increase utility expenses for the use of church facilities. We ask for a nominal fee of $10 per person per night to help offset the extra costs.
TRANSPORTATION Volunteer teams are expected to provide all of their own transportation. If your team decides to fly into
New Orleans then you must also accommodate ground transportation for your team, unless other arrangements are made with us.
The ideal transportation is 12-15 passenger vans.
SECURITY
The safety and well being of all of our volunteers (adults and teenagers) is paramount in our minds, and we are willing to work with all of our teams to provide a safe and secure environment. We usually have multiple volunteer teams here at the same time, and the Church is never left unoccupied.
TOOLS
The only tools needed are any tools that are needed by volunteers to perform their skills. For instance a person with plumbing skills would want to bring basic plumbing tools, a person with carpentry skills would want to bring basic carpentry tools etc.
We ask that each team be prepared to bibles, tracts, and other evangelistic tools that may be needed to share Christ.
If your ministry is interested in donating larger scale tools please contact us for details of our needs.
Can you bring Bibles? If so, we ask that you please contact the church office.
Please make sure to keep up with all of your tools.
TYPE OF WORK TO BE EXPECTED
We have purposefully created an environment where both skilled and unskilled labor can be equally productive of an experience for the teams who are here. Our desire is to provide the best possible experience for each team that is down here. We are willing to work with every team to ensure that they have a full and rich mission experience while serving the community of Grand Isle. This work includes all types of construction:
House Gutting—Includes doing work in the homes of people in the community. These needs may include cutting down trees, removing damaged furniture, removing flooded sheetrock, or any other work that is needed. The Goal of gutting a home is to take it down to the studs. No tools are provided. Any team desiring to do this needs to bring their own masks, goggles or eye protection, work gloves, and work boots/shoes. The OSHA approved masks for safety are the N95 rated masks.
House Sanitizing—Going into homes that have already been gutted, and preparing them to be worked on to be rebuilt. This includes pressure washing, and cleaning the interior of the house, as well as making sure that the nails and any other misc. debris or sheetrock has been removed from the house.
Prayer Walking—Prayer walking a neighborhood prior to our involvement in order to spiritually prepare that neighborhood before we begin ministry there. This produces great opportunities as we pray for people and introduce them to the hope that Faith in Jesus Christ can provide for them.
Children’s Activities associated with Day Camp, like: Backyard Bible Clubs,
Vacation
Bible
Schools , and Sports Camps to the families in the neighborhood we are working in.
Block Parties.
Needs Assessment Surveys.
Door-to-Door witnessing.
Cleaning up Yards, Parks, and Neighborhoods.
Team leaders should feel free to meet with their teams in the evenings. Time and space will be provided for teams to decompress from the days activities. Each team is different. Some require more preparation time than others. In this case more time will be given to care for the needs of the team.
Please be patient and flexible!
WHAT TO BRING
While you may not need all these items during your stay, there are different types of work you will be doing and this list of items is designed to help prepare you for any situation.
Bible, notebook, and pen
Durable, modest clothes that can get dirty
Mosquito repellent
Water
Sunscreen
Hiking boots are best, but tennis shoes will also work
Work gloves
Goggles-clear and the kind that fold like glasses are ideal
Mask (N95 Rating)
Hat or bandana
Toiletries
Insurance card
Air Mattress (double thick ones work best), Sleeping bag, Sheets, a pillow, and a towel
A fun and flexible attitude!
For scheduling and questions please contact Pastor Nathan Stanford or Mrs. Pam Polkey at the church office
985-787-3410.
