Liberty Partners with TRBC to Provide Tornado Relief

After a tornado swirled its way through Lynchburg and parts of Campbell and Amherst Counties on Sunday, April 15, leaving families without homes, Thomas Road Baptist Church stepped up to assist.

As soon as the disaster hit, TRBC Pastor of Missions and Outreach Tim Grandstaff and Senior Pastor Jonathan Falwell contacted the city of Lynchburg and the Red Cross to find out how they could help.  Within just a few hours, TRBC became an official Red Cross shelter for the city of Lynchburg.

 

“I’ve heard people say the sound (of a tornado) sounds like a freight train coming, and it’s just for a split second,” Grandstaff said. “(They say they) didn’t even hear trees falling or anything, and when it was over, they came up and looked outside — their total landscape was totally changed.”

 

The night of the storm, the TRBC Ready Response team, along with other volunteers and staff, arrived at the church to prepare a space for those who needed a place to sleep. The nonprofit organization Gleaning for The World brought a truck full of water, blankets and supplies.  Staff and volunteers set up portable showers and make breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

 

This year, TRBC purchased a disaster trailer equipped with chainsaws, rakes, shovels, tarps and other items, which assisted in their efforts following this storm.

 

Cleanup continued throughout the community on April 19 when volunteers boarded buses to Elon. Liberty senior Hannah Wendt, who currently is student teaching at Temperance Elementary School in Amherst, was part of the crowd headed to the devastation.

 

“It’s one thing to see pictures, but then when you’re standing in front of it, piles and piles of people’s belongs all over their yard and their homes completely destroyed, it breaks your heart,” Wendt said.  “You know you are going home to a safe place, and you know you have a family that’s taken care of and a warm place to sleep tonight with all of your belongings.  For that to be uprooted in someone’s life and everything taken from them, it is really heartbreaking.”

 

The family that Wendt worked with had half of their house demolished — pieces of wood were everywhere and their belongings were scattered.  She described the tornado as resulting in a “street of chaos.”

 

“It was very surprising to see the joy they had being able to give the Lord the glory for protecting all of them,” Wendt said.

 

Combined with LU Serve, Serve Lynchburg added 2,000 students and faculty to projects throughout the community including the Love Where You Live’s citywide clean up initiative April 21. Over a hundred of volunteers from Liberty and TRBC cleaned up nine residential homes and yards.

 

“Above everything else, we want to represent Jesus Christ, and we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community,” Grandstaff said.  “This is where God has planted us, and we want to grow where we are planted to be the best Christ followers we can be for our community.”

 

TRBC and Liberty University are larger than a big organization and a big facility, according to Grandstaff.  He wants people to see that their ministry wants to roll up their sleeves in the community God has placed them during a time of disaster.

 

“We’re out there in the community to first love on people,” Grandstaff said. “And then our goal is that they would see Jesus Christ in our life.”

 

At the Brentwood Mobile Home Park, TRBC connected its Spanish ministry to help those whose mobile homes were damaged by the storm. Grandstaff said some of the people in the area were inhibited and did not want to leave, so to earn their trust, TRBC went back every day to clean up, serve, meet families, host a cook out and provide necessities. On the night of the cook out, four people came to know Christ because of TRBC’s efforts.

 

TRBC plans to create a micro church in the Brentwood Mobile Home Park and help replace and repair the homes that were damaged in the storm.

 

TRBC continues to provide shelter to families who are not allowed back in their homes until further inspection by giving them a place to stay at Liberty’s former Residential Annex.  The church has currently prepared for nine families.  The housing will be on a 30-day contract, but will be on a case-by-case base.

 

As the missions and outreach pastor, Grandstaff said it makes him proud of his church when he sees people engaged, as well as seeing Liberty, the city of Lynchburg, community churches and private and public schools stepping up to serve the community.