MOREHOUSE–It’s been nearly a year since floodwaters poured into this town of about 1,000 in southeast Missouri. Now, the Lord is giving the harvest.
Through various efforts of First Baptist Church – flood relief, sheltering, sportsmen’s event and revival – more than 50 people have been saved.
“God orchestrated this. He put people in place and did this,” said Pastor Randy Conn.
The real work began April 27, 2011, when floodwaters rapidly rose and flooded the majority of Morehouse. First Baptist opened its doors as a shelter and housed people for months – some until June until they returned home.
In the months that followed, volunteers flowed into the town to help with flood recovery. Conn made it clear that sister churches in the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) helped forever change the community’s perspective.
“Having the Cooperative Program behind us, having sister churches behind us gave a very positive outlook to First Baptist Morehouse,” he said.
The church typically has about 50 in Sunday School and about 70 at children and youth programs on Wednesday night.
Through the winter, the church identified long-term needs of residents. One couple, for instance, needed a handicap-accessible bathroom. FEMA provided residents with materials for many projects and volunteers, such as Baptist Builders, supplied the labor.
Against that backdrop, First Baptist sponsored a Sportsmen’s Challenge in January. More than 100 men and boys participated in events including trap shoot, casting and archery contests. Following a gospel presentation, 11 made decisions for Christ. The following day at church services, six more people made decisions.
Revival with evangelist Jim McNiel was hosted March 10-16, kicking off with a fish fry on Saturday night. At least 33 people got saved through the revival, with eight baptisms and five rededications. There have been 52 total professions of faith this year, with 13 baptisms and many more scheduled to be baptized, Conn said.
First Baptist put its arms around their town during the flood, said Gary Taylor, evangelism director for the MBC. Now, the people are opening their hearts to Jesus. It’s a role model for other congregations, he said.
“If God can do that in Morehouse, there’s not a place in Missouri that God cannot do that,” Taylor said.
Conn emphasized that although the revival is occurring in the community, the roots reach far and wide.
“I keep trying to convey that but for people we had in place, the members of our church, the Cooperative Program and support from the MBC, the association, and even as far away as North Carolina, we couldn’t have done this,” he said.