| Katrina Relief Photos | 

When the news stories began to circulate in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many Calvary Chapel churches began to pray about their role. This led to several pastors calling one another to find out what each of their churches were planning on doing. Through these calls a small group of pastors from California began planning a trip to New Orleans and surrounding areas to spy out the land. These pastors included Bob Grenier (CC Visalia), Lance Cook (CC La Habra), John Millhouse (CC Moreno Valley), Roger Wing (CC Costa Mesa), Pancho Juarez (CC Montebello) and John Snoderly (CC Crossroads). These men would soon form the board that would function as the overseers of Calvary Chapel Relief.

This group of men flew out to the New Orleans area on Monday, September 19th, 2005. Through a connection with a Los Angeles police officer, they were able to meet the chief of police for New Orleans, which in turn led to the meeting of, and ministering to, a number of police officers. Originally it appeared that the Lord was opening up a door for chaplain work in New Orleans. Believing that God desired to minister to these devastated communities, the pastors began to travel by car to the surrounding areas. They were told of a town in Mississippi that had borne the brunt of Katrina's wrath.

Bay St. Louis was almost completely destroyed by a 40 foot high storm surge that hit a 7 mile stretch of the Gulf Coast. The 40 foot wave traveled  inland, crossing over Interstate 10, breaking apart houses and businesses, and tossing cars and trucks around like toys. For up to 5 hours during the storm, some locations had 20 feet of flooding as far as 2 miles inland. When it was learned that this community had received very little attention or help, these men began to pray and see if this might be an area that God would have them serve.

They were soon able to meet with Mayor Eddie Favre, along with the fire and police chiefs. God also crossed their paths with Jeffrey Reed, a local pastor and city councilman. The pastors were invited to a city council meeting where the city officials asked them to stay to help with the relief work. The council agreed to let them use a local little league baseball field and would help cover the expenses of the camp (water, electricity, sewage and trash disposal). This confirmed their calling to Bay St. Louis.

The vision from the beginning was simple; assist the families in the community back into their homes. This would include a feeding center, removing downed trees, and general construction assistance. One of the main goals of Calvary Chapel Relief was to unite a concerted effort with several Calvary Chapels, each one providing resources, leadership and spiritual guidance in this endeavor. This vision became a reality on a little league ball field in the heart of a devastated town.

Over 50 Calvary Chapels and other churches from all over the United States sent relief teams to help. Living at first out in the open, then in tents, and finally in quonset huts, 50-70 volunteers each week helped serve 2,00 meals a day to the community members, local and "borrowed" law enforcement and fire personnel, and others that had lost everything. Church services were held every Sunday morning, along with a Wednesday night Bible study. Houses that were still standing were "mucked out", trees that were blown over were cut up and trucked away, and construction began on homes for those that lost everything.

Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving dinner at the relief camp was served differently than the normal feeding of meals, where the community would stand in line to be served. This feast was a sit-down dinner with waiters and waitresses serving them. Seventy folks from Rotary Clubs in Arkansas and Tennessee assisted the Calvary Chapel Relief team of 170 in serving the community. Highlights included: 2,200 people showed up for the dinner; 3,200 dinners were served, including 1,000 that were delivered to residents that had no transportation; over 200 turkeys were deep-fried along with all the trimmings; hundreds of Bibles, books and worship CDs were handed; Kid's Zone showed Veggie-Tales movies along with jumpers and a magician.

A photo studio was also set up where studio-quality photos of each family there were taken, and then these 5 x 7 photos were placed in a frame with a Bible verse on it. This was the most touching part of the evening, as many families had all of their photographs destroyed during the storm. Many wept when they saw their new photos.

Christmas -  For Christmas, a semi-truck filled with toys and items needed for the camp departed from CC Montebello and arrived just in time to bless the community. Many in the community enjoyed real Southern (California) hospitality with a carne asada/beans/rice Christmas feast! Calvary Chapel Relief hosted a large Christmas Worship celebration. Gifts donated by numerous Calvary Chapel churches and the Union Rescue Mission were distributed among the children and adults who came to the tent, as well as hundreds of more gifts that were delivered to those who had no way to get there.

The message of a baby that came to earth and grew to know and understand suffering was made clear to the people of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The message of Jesus Christ brought incredible joy to everyone there!

One year after the Calvary Chapel Relief camp was established, we celebrated it's closing with a community dinner at the newest church in town, Calvary Chapel Bay St. Louis. 

CALVARY CHAPEL BAY ST. LOUIS - 105 Reese St., Bay St. Louis MS 39520                                                                                                             

www.calvarybsl.org                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The following churches and ministries sent relief teams to Bay St. Louis, and were instrumental in the planting of CCBSL:

Calvary Chapel La Habra                     Calvary Chapel Fullerton         Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

Calvary Chapel Saline County             Calvary Chapel Beachside          Calvary Chapel Modesto

Calvary Chapel Huntington Beach        Maranatha Chapel                 Firefighters For Christ                      

Calvary Chapel Orlando                      Craftsmen For Christ                  Calvary Chapel Upland

Calvary Chapel Valley Springs            Calvary Chapel Placerville            Horizon Indianapolis      

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills                 Calvary Chapel Kansas City       Calvary Chapel Crossroads

Horizon Christian Fellowship              Vessel Of Love Ministries           Calvary Chapel Visalia

Calvary Chapel Redwoods          Calvary Chapel Moreno Valley        Calvary Chapel Chino Valley              

Calvary Chapel Santa Fe Springs        Calvary Chapel Simi Valley            Calvary Chapel Tustin

Calvary Chapel Old Bridge                 Calvary Chapel Baton Rouge           Calvary Chapel Kearny       

Calvary Chapel Gwinnett                    Calvary Chapel Montebello             Calvary Chapel Fort Smith

Calvary Chapel Redding                     Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay         Calvary Chapel Northwest

Calvary Chapel Coastlands                 Calvary Chapel Lynwood                Calvary Chapel Sierra Vista

Calvary Chapel South                        Calvary Chapel Bakersfield Fell.      Calvary Chapel Westbrook

Navelencia Community Church           Calvary Chapel Sarasota                 Calvary Chapel Santa Clarita

Heartland Christian Fellowship          Cornerstone Calvary Chapel              Calvary Chapel Rivergate

Calvary Chapel Lynden                          Calvary Chapel Plano                    Little Country Church

Calvary Chapel Georgetown Divide           Calvary Chapel Tri-Cities