One disaster, many responders to refinery blast

Joe WestburyIndex

Port Wentworth Police Department Community Relations Officer Barbara O’Neal visits with First Church Garden City pastor Ken Sharpe, left, and youth minister/volunteer police chaplain Randall Frantz, following a Feb. 20 funeral for one of the sugar refinery victims at the church. O’Neal says Georgia Baptist churches are providing a valuable ministry to family members of employees killed or injured in the tragedy.

Georgia Baptists were among the first responders to the sugar refinery disaster and served in a variety of volunteer roles, says Ministry Resource Consultant Ted Kandler of Savannah.

Those on site shortly after the explosion, offering counseling and related ministries, included Sam Self of First Baptist Church of Port Wentworth; Otis Hill of First Baptist Church of Pooler; Darrel Bailey of First Baptist Church of Bloomingdale, who also serves as NAMB-endorsed chaplain for the Bloomingdale Police Department; and Associational Missionary Steve Sells.

Pastors who were sent directly to hospitals to minister to the injured and their families included: Alan Bosson of Southside Baptist Church, Calvin Webb of Ardsley Park Baptist Church, Jim Staubes of Skidaway Island Baptist Church, Ken Jernigan of Crest Hill, and John Connell of Calvary Baptist Church in Savannah, among others. Randall Frantz, minister of youth and education at First Baptist Church of Garden City and a NAMB-endorsed chaplain, served in a variety of locations as a full-time volunteer chaplain for the Garden City Police Department.

While the explosion occurred in Port Wentworth, much of the ministry has now shifted to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, where churches are bringing meals to families of 13 burn victims. Georgia Baptist churches known to be participating in the community ministry include Hillcrest Baptist Church, Warren Baptist Church, Abilene Baptist Church, and National Hills Baptist Church.

In ongoing ministry, First Baptist Church of Rincon will host a community wide service for prayer and healing at 6 p.m. on March 2.