CNBC.ca - Canadian National Baptist Convention

Organization expands disaster relief opportunities

By Frank Stirk

COCHRANE, AB—Canadian Southern Baptists with a calling to be on the front lines in the wake of a disaster now have the opportunity to broaden their horizons to any place on earth, thanks to a new organization called Baptist Global Response (BGR).

“Our disaster response team would probably be concerned with Canada and the United States,” said CCSB national ministry leader Gerry Taillon. “This expands it to be concerned with the whole world.”

Based in Singapore, BGR was incorporated in 2006 to provide immediate volunteer relief following catastrophic events such as wars, famines, tsunamis, fires and earthquakes. But it also undertakes development projects that address chronic humanitarian needs such as poverty, hunger and disease anywhere outside the United States and Canada.

“This may be the first time,” executive director Jeff Palmer told Baptist Press, “Southern Baptists have had an organization that can provide a highly focused and coordinated response to relief and development needs overseas.”

“We want to see ourselves as ‘connecting people in need with people who care,’” said Abraham Shepherd, the area director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, quoting BGR’s motto. “We know there’s a lot of need in the world. But also we know we have a tremendous family in the Southern Baptists who care about the needs of the world. We want to increase that caring, because we know the need is monumental.”

Taillon likewise sees in BGR a way for CCSB churches to strengthen their “sending component.”

“Where there would be opportunities for our people to be sent into situations, whatever they may be, I think we could have a major impact alongside other Southern Baptists who are going there also,” he said.

Those opportunities also extend to helping people become self-sufficient. “One of the passions of mine,” said Shepherd, “is micro-enterprise, where business people can give their talents.
We can implement a strategy, we can [help] people get on their feet, so they can feed their family and others as well.”

Shepherd is a veteran of numerous disaster relief efforts. Prior to joining BGR, he and his wife, Grace, had been serving as on the “refugee highway” between Asia and Europe.

Palmer said Shepherd is among “some of the best folks I know of in Southern Baptist life to address relief and development needs. This organization has a quality team with many years of experience in both international relief and development.”

“It’s an affirmation of the quality of the people that we’re sending from the CCSB that one of them would be recognized by that kind of position,” said Taillon.

For many years, Shepherd had been praying for a new organization that would marry “quality solutions” with global and regional strategies—and Baptist Global Response, he is convinced, meets that need “exactly.”

“Southern Baptist people who were on the field felt that we needed to have such an organization. And so I am so thankful to see that come to fruition,” he said. “This is very important to me because having been involved in various disaster relief efforts I know that even among the big players they lack that coordinating part.”

Shepherd added that when he travels to a country that has appealed for help in coping with a disaster, he is very open about telling government officials of their Baptist affiliations.

“Obviously they need to know who these people are, what’s their agenda. And most of the time, people realize that there’s a segment of society who really fear God and love their fellow man and want to help,” he said.

“Even in places like southern Lebanon, they welcome that, they embrace that, and they know we are there because we care about the people. We pray for them, we provide for their needs openly.”

“I think Baptist Global Response is a realization,” said Taillon, “that in some places, we’ve got to demonstrate the love of Christ before we can even get close to talking about it.”

To learn more about BGR, go on-line to www.gobgr.org.