North Carolina church reopens doors after Hurricane Helene's impact

Biltmore Church‚ a large religious center in Asheville North Carolina‚ welcomed its members back for in-person worship on 10/13/24 after Hurricane Helene hit the area. The atmosphere was mixed with joy and sadness as people reunited while dealing with significant losses.

Bruce Frank‚ the churchs pastor‚ spoke about the communitys hardships during his sermon. The congregation mourned the loss of Nora and Michael Drye‚ active church members and their 7-year-old grandson Micah‚ who tragically drowned in the floods.

The church has taken action to help those affected:

• Providing their parking area for relief organizations
• Setting up drive-through spots for essential supplies
• Gathering donations via their 828Strong website (named after the local area code)

Frank mentioned that the church had been studying the Letter of James before the hurricane‚ which emphasizes the importance of faith accompanied by actions. This teaching has come to life as church members actively support their neighbors.

Faith without works is dead

The recovery process is expected to be lengthy‚ with Frank describing it as a “stay-at-home mission trip“ for church members. Biltmore Church is working closely with North Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief‚ whos volunteers have prepared over 100‚000 meals in the church parking lot.

Other faith-based organizations are also contributing to the relief efforts. Samaritans Purse‚ led by Franklin Graham‚ has been clearing debris setting up water filtration systems‚ and delivering supplies by helicopter to isolated areas. Theyʼve installed about 50 Starlink kits to restore internet service and provided generators for power in rural communities.

Eight Days of Hope‚ a non-denominational Christian volunteer group‚ has set up mobile feeding sites and trailers with laundry and shower facilities. The Salvation Army has served nearly 400‚000 meals in communities affected by Helene.

Todd Unzicker‚ executive director of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina‚ emphasized the need for long-term commitment from volunteers. He expressed concern about maintaining focus after the upcoming election but believes that churches in the state will continue their support.

Frank noted that unlike the COVID-19 pandemic‚ which divided people this disaster has brought the community together. He praised the efforts of his church and others saying‚ “The church has stepped up‚ both our church as well as other churches“