Baptist Global Response

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Baptist Global Response CEO Jeff Palmer announced Feb. 20 he will be retiring from his current position in the coming months, prospectively timed for June 2020. With prior overseas service experience, Palmer said his desire is to return to a more hands-on approach to ministry.

Southern Baptists are still doing the hard work of helping rehabilitate the Bahamas after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian.

BAHAMAS (BP) -- About three weeks after the Bahamas experienced one of the most devastating hurricanes in its history, a team of Southern Baptist leaders is on the ground in the island nation looking for additional ways Baptists can support relief efforts. Representatives from Baptist Global Response (BGR), the International Mission Board (IMB), and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) will participate in the effort and will finalize partnerships with Baptist churches in the Bahamas for additional support.

CHARLOTTE (BP) -- Hurricane Dorian made landfall Friday (Sept. 6) in northeast North Carolina as a Category 1 storm at Cape Hatteras as first responders in the Bahamas still worked to reach survivors after the storm's devastating visit to those islands. Southern Baptists are working to serve both fronts. As the storm traveled up the east coast, flash flooding occurred in some areas, and wind downed trees in the Carolinas. Tornadoes also spun off the storm. Power went down, and the storm claimed at least four lives in the Southeast.

Members of a Southern Baptist church in Ohio never expected to witness the suffering of refugees firsthand.

Relief workers and missionaries around the world often use Global Hunger Relief funds to meet needs in unique ways.

VENEZUELA (BP) -- International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood ends today (May 13) a weeklong trip that included the Venezuelan border where he encouraged Baptists and area convention leaders ministering to refugees amid the nation's collapsed economy and political strife. "We're thankful that Southern Baptists are here ministering to the needs of people who really are in a desperate situation," Chitwood said in a video during his visit to Colombia. Chitwood witnessed scores of Venezuelans crossing into Colombia for food and medical care not available in Venezuela, where inflation is more than 1 million percent.

PEMBA, Mozambique (BP) -- With Mozambique suffering its second major cyclone in the past six weeks, Baptist Global Response has requested prayer for ongoing disaster relief ministry in the southeast African nation. "Pray for the people in areas that are completely cut off, that have no access to food and shelter, and cannot communicate with those outside," BGR stated on its website. "Pray for those who are responding to do so quickly, and to have wisdom in the best ways to respond."

ARUA, UGANDA (BP) -- With only one arm, Agnes carries a five-gallon jug of water on her head in a refugee camp near the South Sudan border in northern Uganda. On her own, she's a single mom with two children to care for and has to make an hour-long trek to a well because it's the closest one to her house.

TICA, Mozambique (BP) -- Following a cyclone in Mozambique that killed at least 446 people, Baptist Global Response and the International Mission Board have begun disaster relief ministry in the southeast African nation and are preparing to broaden their response. "We have implemented a water and sanitation project in one of the displaced communities but are gearing up for some food and household goods distributions," said Jeff Palmer, executive director of BGR, a Baptist relief and development organization.