Houston and Union Association
still recovering from June flood
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___HOUSTON--Four months after floodwaters destroyed offices of Union Baptist Association and severely damaged Baptist churches in Houston, the disaster continues to shape Baptist work there.
___Volunteer labor still is needed to help a number of churches in rebuilding and in meeting the needs of their communities, according to Karen Simons, church consultant and communications coordinator for the association.
___Also, the staff of Union Baptist Association continues to work from remote locations. The office space leased by the association has not yet been repaired, and associational leaders currently are negotiating to find a positive solution to the problem.
___The association does intend to move back to a common office space as soon as feasible, Simons said.
___In the meantime, however, most of the association's ministry staff are working from home offices. Secretarial support staff have established a temporary home in one room of a building owned by First Baptist Church of Houston, and temporary financial offices have been set up elsewhere.
___Associational staff members meet weekly at White Oak Baptist Church and stop by the secretarial office periodically to pick up mail.
___One positive byproduct of the disaster has been increased contact with association churches, Simons said, explaining that staff members now are much more prone to set up meetings at church sites and make personal calls on church leadership.
___On the downside, however, the association no longer has a central meeting spot for all the churches, which are spread across a huge geographical area.
___Recovering from the flood will cost the association an estimated $300,000, Simons said. That includes replacing lost office equipment and furnishings and restoring office space as it was before the flood.
___The association did not have flood insurance. However, after offering some financial assistance to flood-damaged churches, the association had $100,000 in reserves to draw on. Additionally, churches and associations from across the United States have donated $160,000 in flood relief funds.
___That leaves the association at least $40,000 short of what will be needed for complete restoration.
___Regular budget contributions to the association have dropped off significantly since the flood, according to Dian Kidd, associate executive director. In the association's October newsletter, she reported current monthly average contributions of $109,000, compared to an average of $118,300 throughout last year.
___Giving already had begun to soften because of the slowing economy, but the flood took a further toll on the church economy, Simons explained.
___Despite these challenges, associational leaders are determined to see opportunities rather than obstacles.
___"Let's not waste a good catastrophe," Executive Director Tom Billings told associational leadership. "You're at your most creative when you're at the edge of chaos."
___While many of Houston's flood-damaged churches have made repairs to their own facilities, they continue to discover opportunities to minister to their communities in the aftermath of the flood, Simons said. "Other churches remain overwhelmed by their facility needs, but they have stopped dealing with that to meet the needs of their communities."
___Individuals or churches desiring more information about how to help Union Baptist Association or its member churches with ongoing flood relief may call the flood recovery hotline at (713) 461-0670.
The Baptist Standard
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
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