In the fall of 2024 Florida was hit by two consecutive tropical storms. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4 storm, and just a few weeks later Hurricane Milton landed as a category 3. Both storms caused extensive wind damage, record-breaking storm surges, and an outbreak of tornados.
As soon as it was safe to do so, Charis Disaster Response moved into the St. Petersburg area and set up a homebase for helping with cleanup efforts in the region. In partnership with On Mission Network, they began assembling teams and assessing projects. Many Charis Fellowship churches responded by sending teams and supplies.
Calvert Grace Church, located in southern Maryland, was one of the first to send a team. Jamie King, who has attended Calvert Grace since 2020, served as the team lead. “I’ve never been on a missions trip per se, but have enjoyed working on maintenance and installation activities at the church, so this seemed like a good fit for me,” Jamie said. “I was the team lead for our small group of six men, but it was really a team effort, and we had some very talented guys in regard to home repair/remodeling, so I was in learning mode much of the week.”
The team worked to cut up and remove trees on residential properties, where they also gave a Bible to each homeowner and prayed with them. After that, they primarily served at a local Charis pastor’s home. Some initial work was completed before they arrived by area churches, and the Calvert Grace team installed and finished drywall in all rooms of the home, preparing the home to be painted by other volunteers.
Galilee Missionary Baptist Church hosted the team for the week, and Jamie said while they were there they had the opportunity to interact with the On Mission Network staff and other volunteers. “We had a volunteer worker come to the Lord and make a profession of faith during our time there — and there were many other God moments throughout the week. He truly blessed and multiplied our efforts.”
Shane Welch also served on the team from Calvert Grace. He described himself as a workhorse, and said he enjoyed doing the physical labor that opened doors for others to have spiritual conversations.
Jamie said, “It was extremely rewarding to assist these folks with needs they could not handle themselves — financially and physically — and I found that my spiritual eyes were opened wider to the need to share the Gospel with passion and urgency. The hurricane(s) reminded us all that there are no guarantees for tomorrow except through Jesus.”