Rapid Response Team: 2011 in Review

By   •   December 12, 2011

Meeting Needs in Australia
With an RRT response in 2009 as a result of the bush fires, and more recently, the occurrence of the Queensland flooding, the need for an RRT base in Australia became apparent. As a result, RRT chaplain ministry was launched through Sharing Hope in Crisis (SHIC) seminars this August in Australia. The SHIC seminars are geared to help equip churches to appropriately share God’s hope when the tragedies of life happen every day.
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Chaplains Finish Up New Jersey Deployment
Over 20 days in and around the flooded Wayne, N.J., area, the Holy Spirit moved and dozens made first-time commitments for Christ. Among the commitments over the three-week stretch were four husband-and-wife couples, two foster brothers, a grandmother and granddaughter, a woman battling breast cancer and a recent widow and her teenage son.
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Bringing the Comfort of Christ to Alabama
A University of Alabama student is missing after her off-campus apartment was obliterated. A crying baby is found safe and sound—on the ground, in the arms of his dead mother. An 800 lb. safe containing someone’s most valuable earthly possessions is found in a river. These are but a few of the many ways tornadoes sweeping through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia on April 27 have devastated lives.
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Grief and Crisis Training in Japan   
As conditions continued to weigh on the hearts of the Japanese people, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team trained church leaders in Grief and Crisis Training and hosting much-needed pastor’s retreats.
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Joplin Hard Hit by Tornado
With widespread tornado damage leaving parts of Joplin, Mo., unrecognizable and the death toll up to 142, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has deployed into an area suffering great loss.
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A Flood of Compassion   
Media may have forgotten about the flood in Minot, N.D., but the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team hasn’t. When the flood waters have receded, the work of cleanup and heart restoration was just beginning.
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Out of the Ashes of 9/11, A Ministry is Born
From the ashes of 9/11, Franklin Graham recognized the need to develop a Rapid Response Team ministry to share Christ in the midst of crisis and disasters. BGEA Festival Director Chad Hammond shares the story from a first-hand perspective.
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Hurricane Irene Leaves Many Wondering ‘Why?’
Hurricane Irene blasted more than 1,500 houses in New Bern and left hundreds of millions in North Carolina damages, leaving homeowners with one main question. In the time of disaster, it’s common for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains to be thrown many questions. The search for answers almost universally has one thing in common — the question “Why?”
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Rapid Response Team Concludes Haiti Deployment
“While serving the Haitian people since the earthquake, our chaplains found an unprecedented hunger for Jesus Christ as we shared His hope and comfort with thousands of hurting people,” said Jack Munday, director of the Rapid Response Team as it concluded an almost two-year deployment.
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Be the Hands and Feet of Christ

During 2012, the Rapid Response Team will continue to bring God’s love to people touched by disasters. You can play a part through your prayers and donations. Please  give today to help hurting people at home and around the world.