Hurricane Ida Relief
Note from Pastor Tim 7/6/22
Greetings to our church family, friends of Williams Boulevard Baptist Church!
We are almost 1 year into our Hurricane Ida Recovery process and are excited about the progress that has been made. We are 70% completed with the recovery and rebuild work. God has been so faithful to us through the process. God has opened many doors of ministry, provided resources, and continues to strengthen our church!
Our theme has been Psalms 127:1: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. We have embraced the opportunity that God has given us to rebuild, but also to take spiritual responsibility of an outward focus in our community.
Several highlights from ministry this year included a Trunk or Treat outreach in the neighborhood, Christmas for children in the community, a Christmas Art worship outreach, and an Easter evangelistic emphasis. We had Youth Camp in June and are in the middle of our Children’s Connect Day Camp with over 130 kids!
Spiritually, we are walking in the Gospel of John this summer and we will start a spiritual renewal emphasis called Change Me this fall. Change Me is a collaborative effort of Louisiana Baptist praying for spiritual revival.
We still have work to be done. We promoted a June Giving Challenge within our church to continue the rebuild effort. This fall we will work on 2nd floor B (Youth space), 2nd floor A (Spanish ministries), and replacing our church sign. Our hope is to complete all of those tasks when it is a little cooler and Hurricane season has passed. Pray for God’s continued favor in this effort.
Thank you for being our friend and partner in a time of need. May God richly bless your life, church, and ministry!
"From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the LORD be praised." - Psalm 113:3
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Watch this video from one of our ministry partners, Connect Camps.
To Donate:
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Text: WBGive to 73256 and select Disaster Relief-Hurricane in order to help
contribute to our church’s efforts of Disaster Relief.
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Online Giving: Click HERE to donate. Under "Fund" Choose "Hurricane Ida."
Our website is www.williamsblvd.org
As you can imagine, we are facing a great financial challenge. If your church feels
led to help us, we would be grateful. Due to the unusually high cost of premiums
โand deductibles, we do not carry hurricane insurance.
As we receive financial gifts, we will continue the ministries of our church and
will address the extensive rebuild process. We commit that every financial
donation will be accounted for and well used.
Volunteer Teams:
Our initial efforts are to mobilize teams into our community. We are able to host
volunteers in our gym with bunk beds, a/c, showers, and a full kitchen. Contact
Vicky Beber to schedule your team. vbeber@williamsblvd.org
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Our second wave of volunteers will serve churches and communities in the region.
We also hope to start rebuilding the interior facility with volunteers.
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Urgent Facility Projects:
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Sanctuary Roof Damage. 20+ large sheets of metal will need to be replaced. We
are also repairing ceiling and interior damage. The back half of the building is
educational space and is mostly now gutted out for a rebuild.
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Brick wall of Children’s Building. The back wall of the children’s building
collapsed and crushed 6 outside air-condition system units. We are getting a quote
to rebuild the wall and replace the a/c units. Need urgent donations.
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Administrative Building Roof Replacement. The entire roof was ripped off. We will
be bidding out a new metal roof (200 feet long) with a sustainable design. We will
work on a build out later as we secure volunteers and funding.
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We hope to replace our iconic church sign that was destroyed after standing tall for
40+ years. That’s on our wish list, but not most urgent.
โWe are mostly a part-time staff, with two full-time Pastors. Our hope is to keep
the team in place. Our gym will become a volunteer center to serve our
community and our region. We will continue to minister to our State Troopers
across the street. Pastor Tim is the volunteer Chaplain for Troop B.
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Any partners, donors, or volunteers can contact us directly to assist. The church
phone is 504-443-2363.
Contact:
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Vicky Beber - Volunteer Teams (vbeber@williamsblvd.org)
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Brent Hockman - Coordination and Supplies (bhockman@williamsblvd.org)
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Dr. Tim Williams - Donations and Partnership (twilliams@williamsblvd.org)
Thank you for your engagement and prayer. May God be honored through all of
this and may we be found worthy of His High Calling.
Build 127 Progress
