Pictured above: A volunteer serves meals in the Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church of Perry, FL during the Florida Baptist Convention’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.
PERRY–Florida Baptist Disaster Relief launched its mass feeding operations at First Baptist Church in Perry on Saturday, Sept. 28, following Category 4 Hurricane Helene’s destructive path in Florida’s Big Bend on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Already thousands of meals have been served to residents who have become hurricane-weary after three hurricanes in 13 months in the region.
For the third time in those 13 months, First Baptist Church in Perry, located at 102 N. Center St., Perry, FL 32347, is the designated FBDR command center for relief operations. In addition to coordinating the mass feeding operation, disaster relief leaders at the command center help coordinate damage assessment, clean-up and recovery and spiritual care and witness as FBDR volunteers help community residents in the storm’s aftermath.
Steven Ruff, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Perry, admits the back-to-back-to-back hurricanes are taking a toll on the community.
“Honestly, I’m hearing on one hand how much more can one community take with three hurricanes in 13 months, along with a major plant closure during that same time? Everyone is shellshocked,” said Ruff.
With Hurricane Helene’s assault on the community, the pastor reported that his church “suffered a few water leaks, sustained metal roof damage on the sanctuary and lost a portion of the roof on the student center.”
Still, the church is focused not on itself but on its community.
“Our church hears the need to serve our local community taught and preached regularly by me,” said Ruff. “Opening up our campus is a natural extension and application of that teaching.”
In August 2023, when Hurricane Idalia roared through Perry, damage was widespread throughout the community. Ruff, who also serves as a chaplain for FBDR, said, “Our people were served by disaster relief volunteers in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, and it made a deep impact. So, each time we’re asked to serve, they remember the real-life impact of disaster relief on them, their families and community.”
Reeling from a hurricane’s fury unleashed in their community once again, members of First Baptist Church in Perry remain resolute in their commitment to love their neighbors.
“Our people are reaching out to help their neighbors and praising the Lord in the good times and the bad times,” Ruff said.
For updates on FBDR response, go to facebook.com/FLBaptistDR and https://flbaptist.org/dr-current-response.
Photos by William Haun for Florida Baptist Convention.