A Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief team from Forest Hills Baptist Church helps clear away a fallen tree, just some of the damage to hit Middle Tennessee in the wake of Winter Storm Fern. – B&R file photo by Chris Turner
NASHVILLE — Nearly six weeks after Winter Storm Fern brought historic ice and snowfall to Tennessee, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams are still working to restore normalcy to communities across the state.
“Once the disaster’s off the front page, people forget about it,” said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. But for TBDR, that’s never been an option.
Jones reported they’ve completed just under 1,000 jobs since the storm struck Jan. 25-27. The initial estimate of pending requests stood at 2,000, but the number of online job requests on the crisis cleanup platform eventually reached 5,000.
Much of the work in the final stretch consists of tree and limb removal — smaller scale jobs compared to what TBDR crews typically do after tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods, but no less meaningful.
Jones said the nature of the work provides more opportunities for ministry.
“It was a lot of small jobs,” said Jones. “Sometimes our chainsaw crews want to do big jobs, but they were doing sometimes five, six to eight jobs a day. And one of the guys said later on: ‘That’s eight families we get to minister to in a day rather than just one that we spend all day at their house.’”
Teams worked across a wide swath of Middle and West Tennessee. In the Nashville area, volunteers served Mt. Juliet, Hermitage, Madison, Antioch, Forest Hills, and Brentwood.
In West Tennessee, especially in the Savannah area, Jones said approximately 70 jobs remained as of last week.
The North Carolina Disaster Relief teams called in for additional support completed close to 300 jobs in Perry County. Teams from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and Texans on Mission also deployed to Tennessee. Additional assistance came from Missouri, Ohio, and Virginia.
“It’s so great to have the partnership with the other states,” said Jones. “To be able to call on them and for them to come in and just run the site themselves where I don’t have to worry about it.”
Ice-covered roads and linemen restoring power slowed the early response, but once conditions improved, teams moved in quickly.
Local churches have continued to show up in the weeks following the storm. Congregations like Brentwood Baptist and Forest Hills Baptist, among others, are still actively working in their surrounding areas.
Jones shared one story about a woman in Antioch whose damaged yard prevented members of her small group ministry from accessing her home. After Jones’ wife connected her with TBDR, a crew cleared the yard within two days.
“She was so appreciative that she was able to continue her ministry because we came and cleaned up her yard so that people could get in there and be able to park,” said Jones.
TBDR’s greatest current need is still financial. Many local churches shut down for approximately two weeks following the storm, cutting into the donations that typically fund disaster relief operations.
“We’re in the hole on this one,” said Jones, “But that’s all right — God’s already taken care of it, so we’re good.” B&R
Those who want to serve should contact Wes Jones ([email protected]), Garry Maddox ([email protected]) or Elizabeth Holmes ([email protected]). To donate to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, visit tndisasterrelief.org/contributions and select the “TN Ice Storms Fund.”
