WEBB CITY – Any church would be thrilled to see its Sunday School rooms packed with strangers, but perhaps the enthusiasm would wane when they started unrolling the sleeping bags and settling in for a week.
But that’s what First Baptist Church here, just a few minutes north of Joplin, has done in opening its doors to thousands of relief volunteers over the last 12 months. It is one of several churches in the Joplin area that have housed workers since the May 22, 2011 tornado that killed 161 and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.
“This March alone there were so many students here I can’t even guess,” said John Sherwood, the church’s pastor, referring to the 400-plus college and high school students that spent spring break on mission in Joplin.
First Baptist played host to groups every week from the end of May last year through the start of school in the fall.
“We took a picture of how we needed the rooms set up for Sunday School and let them have at it,” he said.
Every church in the area was affected by the deadly tornado, and FBC Webb City was no different. One family lost a brother and sister-in-law, and 13 of the church’s families lost homes. The church assisted by housing them with other members, cleaning up their remaining belongings and helping them move once they found permanent housing.
Until recently, the 130-year-old church would not have had the space to house such large groups, but another dramatic weather event – this time an ice storm in 2007 – collapsed their auditorium and spurred a building program.
“We’re fortunate we got that done before the tornado came,” Shepherd said. “We wouldn’t have been able to have the kind of ministry we do otherwise.”
So the church had plenty of education/bunk space, but one area they were ill-equipped to facilitate volunteers was when it came to bathing. For that, they coordinated with local Baptist disaster relief shower units who set up shop in the church’s parking lot.
Sherwood said the church had to set some boundaries and work the volunteers around certain ministries and even weddings, but overall it has been a blessing.
“The ministry of the church still has to go on,” he said. “There were adjustments that had to be made, but nothing major. A lot of the groups would stay and worship with us on Sunday, and that was always a great blessing. It’s been a positive experience.”