Biloxi Christian Church Hurricane Katrina Relief Continues
Biloxi Christian Church Hurricane Katrina relief continues more than six years after the storm. The congregation houses and feeds volunteers while connecting them with ongoing Gulf Coast recovery efforts.
- Biloxi Christian Church continues to house volunteers working on Hurricane Katrina recovery.
- The church partnered with another area congregation to form New Life Disaster Relief.
- Two additional “bunkhouses” provide shelter for volunteers serving along the Gulf Coast.
By Jennifer Taylor
Serving Hurricane Katrina Victims Years Later
Although Hurricane Katrina doesn’t make the news much anymore, Biloxi (MS) Christian Church has not stopped caring for its victims.
Biloxi Christian sprang into action immediately after Katrina hit in 2005, opening its building and organizing volunteers and supplies. Today, more than six years later, BCC continues to have an open door for the effort and has partnered with another area church to form New Life Disaster Relief.
“People from all over the country and every denomination come to work, and we house them in our building,” says minister John Wester. “We’ve turned our classrooms into bedrooms with donated beds, linens, and furniture. We are a small church with extra room, and this is one way we can serve.”
The church also makes the free housing available to Habitat for Humanity workers, but Wester says volunteers from as far north as Pennsylvania still make regular trips to the area to finish the hurricane recovery.
“The job’s not done,” he says. “People are still hurting.”
Helping the Helpers on the Gulf Coast
Biloxi Christian also added two trailers, which they call “bunkhouses,” to create additional shelter for volunteers. The church provides food for the workers and connects them to other relief organizations in the area.
For Wester, this long-term commitment is just a way to “help the helpers” and show God’s love. “The church is God’s house, and we are blessed to use it for others,” he says.
—Jennifer Taylor
