by Julie Daubé

On Thursday, September 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, leaving millions without power before continuing its path of destruction across Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Catastrophic flooding left roads impassable and devastated communities. The search for those missing continues as the death toll rises.

Despite the horrific effects of Helene, God’s hand of protection has been clearly seen by many Alliance family members who were in the hurricane’s path. On Friday, September 27, Tom Olney, associate pastor of Palm Coast Bible Church and The Alliance Southeast’s disaster response coordinator, wrote the following update:

Praise the Lord that the reports we are hearing so far from around the state indicate that Alliance Southeast District pastors and facilities have experienced relatively minimal damage and therefore are able to give hope and help in Jesus’ name to their communities after Hurricane Helene. Much of the damage our workers are facing seems to be fallen tree limbs, minor roof damage, or toppled trees. Several congregational members and neighbors of Alliance Southeast District congregations experienced localized flooding related to the higher-than-forecasted storm surge.

Our goal as a district is to help our local congregations get back up on their feet as soon as possible after a disaster and equipping them to help their neighbors recover. This leads those neighbors to look to these local Alliance congregations in the future, long after the current situation abates.

The Alliance South reports, “The devastation is immense, and the need is great. As we continue to gather additional information about the damage and devastation of Hurricane Helene, we are so thankful for our greater Alliance family for coming alongside us with disaster relief efforts throughout The Alliance South. Some truly amazing testimonies are unfolding amid this destruction.”

Following are some examples of how Alliance people have been the hands and feet of Jesus to those in affected areas.

Matt Lutz, Boone Living Room Church (Boone, North Carolina)

I continue to hear of people cut off from others primarily out to our west. Thankfully, many organizations with heavy equipment have stepped up to help. We have a church of about 25 people, so we are trying to help on a smaller scale but have seen the Lord do wonderful things through those who have willing hearts. One family who didn’t lose power/water immediately opened their home to anyone who needed it. A new attendee (first service was the prior week) immediately began living with them and is still there at this point. Nightly, this family has had people for supper, clothes washing, and showers. Two families helped to spearhead the rebuilding of a bridge in a nearby community.  There was no heavy equipment available, so we did it by hand! What an incredible testimony of the love of Christ! A young couple with a newborn regularly opens their home for their neighbors to come for rest. Three other families have had assistance with cleaning of their flooded rooms/basement. We also met a Vietnamese couple who lost their whole business today, and we are planning ways to help them with the cleanup. Many other churches in our district would love to help send relief to our Alliance church families following the devastation.

Stephen Scarrow, Friendship Alliance Church (Moultrie, Georgia)

We were spared major damage as the eastern eye wall passed through our community. Just 20 miles to our west is another story. We are joining forces with my wife’s employer, the University of Georgia Extension, to get help into the counties to our west.

Andy Bashwinger, Bible Covenant Community Church (York, South Carolina)

We are good for the most part in York. Amazingly, the church never lost power. My wife and I were able to connect with the congregation and went through our immediate neighborhood to check on folks. We were able to get bags of ice from a neighboring community to distribute to folks to keep refrigerators cold. Most have power back now.

Prayer Requests

Please continue to pray for everyone impacted by this disaster. While Alliance workers and buildings fared relatively well, countless others endured flooding, wind damage, and the loss of loved ones, homes, and businesses. May God continue to use His people to shine the light and love Jesus among those who are hurting and in need. 

Pray also for continued financial provision and manpower resources for ongoing relief and recovery efforts.

If you feel led to give financially to the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, you can do so here. Please note that those who want to give through the link in the article will need to designate their gift to the district they want it to go to; otherwise it will go to the generic designation of U.S. Disaster Relief. Before clicking on the submission button, you will see a box where you can type in your preference, e.g., Alliance South Disaster Relief.