Hear the whole story between K-LOVE's Tala Shatara and Pastor Chris Fox and Jamie Fox.
(BURNSVILLE, NC) — Clean water has become one of the most sought-after resources after flooding grounded many lives in western North Carolina.
Flooding has affected or even damaged numerous reservoirs and piping, which is when a local-area pastor knew it was time to step in.
Pastor Chris Fox and his wife, Jamie have been leading the West Burnsville Baptist Church for about a year and have already made their congregation a part of their family.
When tragedy recently struck in the North Carolina area, Pastor Fox rallied together with his community to bring resources back to the Appalachian region.
“We began to realize, OK, this is more serious than maybe we thought,” Pastor Fox said.
Without power, cell service, and other basic needs, Pastor Fox and his family were unsure if their congregation was safe or if the church building was still standing.
Pastor Fox called the Baptist North Carolina State Convention to see how they could provide immediate donations and supplies to people in the community, and from there it catapulted.
“We had people bringing in pallets of water, food, all kinds of hygiene related things, supplies, you name it,” Pastor Fox said.
What is now known as a thousand-year storm, stranded people for weeks. The church sent volunteers out on ATVs and even on foot to bring people food and water during that time.
It wasn’t long before Baptist on Mission got involved and operations became larger.
The organization is made up of people all over the country who aim to honor God addressing human needs on local, state, national and international levels.
After major needs including food and hygiene products were met, the city was still experiencing a lack of clean water. The West Burnsville Baptist Church soon served as a site to dig a well that would provide clean and running water of about 50 gallons per minute.
The church had become a site for clean water, food, showers, and other resources within days and it wasn’t long until Pastor Fox and his congregation became nationally recognized for their hard and swift work. Franklin Graham, the president of Christian nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, even took notice and sent out a team to West Burnsville to help.
And what they heard next changed everything.
“They [Samaritan’s Purse] said ‘we want to build a facility on your property that we could use for the next three years to help rebuild a hundred homes, and also bring in about 500 mobile homes.’” Pastor Fox recalled.
The church plans to use the facility as a family life center for outreach ministry work once three years go by.
Pastor Fox and his wife were astonished by how God provided their church with a free facility to take care of their congregation and community.
“It's just overwhelming,” Jamie Fox expressed.
The couple is extending their appreciation to their congregants, who were ready to jump in and take care of their neighbors.
“The church body, the family of believers in this church are just, they're warriors for Christ,” Jamie adds.
There are still many ways you can get involved with their ongoing mission. Visit their website or call them at (828) 682-3990.