16 | July 2025
From Dallas to the Streets of Circleville, Ohio By Dr. John Heading, Ohio DR state director
Their family hired a company to do their flood remedi - ation but that’s not really why our team was there. We were there to take care of an unmet need. God placed the team at Neal and Shirley’s house to minister to an el- derly couple who just needed someone to listen to them and pray for them. Everyone who serves during a deployment is vital to the mission. The feeding team, shower team and Incident Management Team, who generally stay at the church, are just as important as the chaplains and recovery teams who deploy into the communities. On this deployment, all of our teams were part of Amy giving her life to Christ. Her family suffered the most destruction from the flood. Their entire house had to be gutted. It would be a devas- tating time for anyone in their situation. Amy shared some of her life story with Chaplain Terry as the team tore out everything that was water-damaged in her home. You might think Amy would be focused on her belongings and the tear-out, but she was focused on other needs. At that moment, she knew she needed Jesus Christ more than she needed new drywall. Amy trusted Christ and is eager to attend church. The prayer now is for her husband who is not a believer – yet.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Dallas was a great time to share about the ministry of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) and get together with old friends. The SBDR display in the Exhibition Hall featured a new Quick Response Feeding unit from Arkansas DR that really drew a crowd. During the SBC, I received a call from the Fayette Coun- ty Emergency Manager. Circleville, Ohio suffered a flash flood and officials estimated that approximately 50 homes were affected. They needed our help. The SBC was great, but it was time to take the message of the gospel through Ohio DR from Dallas to the streets of Circleville. Ohio DR set up a response site at Circleville FBC. Pastor Billy Barbo didn’t hesitate to allow the team to take over the church building so we could serve their community. In the field training is a big part of learning to serve. Ohio DR had six chaplains serving on the team in Cir- cleville. Experienced chaplain Terry Smith, First Baptist Church, New Lebanon, led a chaplain team of five. The team had two new chaplains, Mary Lou Puperi and Deb- ra Starcher, Central Baptist Mission Center, Akron. The chaplain team canvased the entire area where the recov- ery team was working. The chaplain team handed out 54 tracts, had seven gos- pel conversations, and had two families interested in at- tending church. There was also one profession of faith. I led a small team of chaplains who visited the home of Neal and Shirley. Neal has had cancer issues for the last 30 years. Now he’s 85 years old and on dialysis three days a week. Shirley is 90 years old and doing her best to take care of Neal. Through the ministry of Ohio DR, Amy accepted Christ during a DR deployment in Circleville, Ohio.
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