As Ike Approaches, Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Prepares to Deploy

Anniversary of 9/11, Hurricanes Offer Solemn Reminder of Brevity of Life

As Hurricane Ike swirls in the Gulf Coast and projects a Saturday landfall between Houston and Corpus Christi, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team of crisis-trained chaplains is preparing to travel to Texas this weekend to begin ministering in the wake of the potentially deadly storm. A team will leave BGEA headquarters on Saturday and caravan to the hurricane zone with Samaritan’s Purse, the Boone, N.C.-based disaster relief organization also run by BGEA President and CEO Franklin Graham. While Samaritan’s Purse meets the physical needs brought about by Hurricane Ike, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team will attend to the spiritual and emotional needs of victims. This deployment to Texas occurs as both the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Samaritan’s Purse have workers and volunteers operating in multiple areas of Louisiana following Hurricane Gustav’s landfall on Labor Day. As the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team makes final preparations for Saturday’s departure, they are mindful that today is the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That tragedy was actually the catalyst for the formation of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “As we honor the memory of the victims from that tragic day seven years ago, we once again watch a gathering storm taking aim at the United States,” said Jack Munday, director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “Both of these events remind us that life is short and nothing is certain. Just as we did in New York City in the aftermath of September 11, we will be in Texas to talk and pray with survivors, and offer hope and peace in the midst of a tumultuous and dark time.” Munday added, “Please take a moment today to pray for those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 and are still feeling the pain of loss from that day. Pray also for those in Ike’s path in Texas, and those who were recently battered by Gustav. All of these people desperately need to know how much they are loved.” The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide network of more than 2,800 chaplains and ministry volunteers who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed more than 40 times following natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings. About BGEA The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) proclaims the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available. From its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., BGEA runs a wide range of domestic and international evangelism ministries, including: large-scale events led by evangelists Franklin Graham and Will Graham; Dare to Be a Daniel, a youth evangelism training project; My Hope World Evangelism Through Television; the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, offering the hope of Jesus Christ in the midst of tragedy; and many others through print, television, telephone, radio and the Internet. For more information, please visit www.billygraham.org. - 30 -