Georgia Churches Pray For Rain, Aid Communities As Wildfires Destroy Homes
Praying for rain is ever on the minds of Twin Rivers Baptist Church members in the rural farming community of Hortense. But April 22, the church held an actual “pray for rain” service as the Highway 82 wildfire spread.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Twin Rivers senior pastor Rusty Bryan told Baptist Press. “It’s just very, very destructive.”
Wildfires are burning the parched, dry ground in southeast Georgia, hot winds fanning the flames.
The Highway 82 fire, among several wildfires in southeast Georgia and north Florida, has taken down about 90 homes and businesses and parched more than 7,500 acres, according to government updates.
Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief began dispatching the first of four units to Brantley County and nearby areas as of today, The Christian Index reported April 22, and planned additional recovery and clean-up after the fires are contained.
Twin Rivers began serving hot meals and collecting and distributing supplies Tuesday, but as Brantley County issued a voluntary evacuation order Thursday, the church transitioned to recovery efforts when the fire allows. Bryan and his family, who live in the church parsonage, are packed and ready to evacuate if the flames threaten.
“We’re just praying for God to move,” Bryan said, “and send rain as He sees fit.”
Even closer to the fire is Little Memorial Baptist Church, serving as a shelter and distributing food, water and other supplies. The church was not under an evacuation order as of this morning, senior pastor James “Keith” Brown told Baptist Press, but it had been under a voluntary evacuation order as the winds shift the fire.
“We’ve got our church open for anybody that’s in need,” Brown said. “Most of our congregation, all of them, God has spared their homes so far. It’s not going to be a quick fix, because they still haven’t gotten the fires contained yet. Every day, there’s no rain, there’s constant wind, and that wind is what’s reigniting the fires.”
The church has helped two families who lost their homes, in addition to those who evacuated and don’t know whether their property remains. Brown himself was called away from the church Thursday to secure his 354-acre farm in nearby Pierce County, but by the time he arrived, firefighters had put out the flame the winds blew on his property.
“I have lived in southeast Georgia all my life,” Brown said, “basically raised right here on the farm. And I’ve seen a lot of fires. I’ve assisted in different situations, but nothing in comparison to what we’ve encountered in downtown Brantley. You’ve got the fire department, you’ve got Georgia Forestry, you’ve got the state that’s come to help, and there’s no stopping it.”
Evacuation orders have impacted members of both churches, pastors said, but no deaths have been reported.
Among those sheltering at Little Memorial is a woman who told Brown she had been looking for a church home.
“She said they were looking for a church, and she believes God brought her to it,” Brown said.
Little Memorial is among seven shelters open during the fire, joined by Southside Baptist Church in Nahunta and other sites. Lulaton Baptist Church, under the leadership of senior pastor Steve Beal, is serving as a GBDR staging site.
“Please just ask folks to pray for rain in our county and state,” Beal urged Baptist Press, “and to remember us for weeks to come.”
In this morning’s update, Brantley County Manager Joey Cason, cautioned residents to heed evacuation warnings and be alert throughout the day.
“This fire is still approximately 15 percent contained,” he said. “But if you saw anything yesterday, that containment can shift from 15 percent to 0 percent in a matter of minutes with the wind. It’s important to note that we’ve got people from all over the Southeast here on the scene, and they’ll continue coming in.”
An 8:30 p.m.-6:30 a.m. curfew is in place in areas threatened by the fire, Cason said, depending on the winds.”
All three pastors urged Southern Baptists to remember the area after the fires are contained, anticipating a lengthy cleanup, recovery and restoration.
Normally, flames would have to jump one of the two rivers on either side of Twin Rivers Baptist, pastor Bryan said, but there’s little water in the riverbeds, neither the Satilla nor the Little Satilla.
“The river’s so low right now, it’s so dry,” he said. “I mean, you can walk across the river. You can practically step across it in some places.”
This article was originally published by Baptist Press.
Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.