ATLANTA – Last Saturday at the only stoplight in Buena Vista, Ga., $1,000.16 was collected for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Asian Response Fund to aid tsunami victims. It was a community effort, including members of two churches, the local Masonic Lodge and the Eastern Star, and the fire chief.  They stood for four hours with buckets in hand collecting even the smallest donations like the ones from children in a Pulaski County school bus returning from playing basketball.

“Windows started popping down and hands came out and put coins in the bucket,” said Sam Rigdon, who coordinated the fund-raising effort.

Rigdon, the moderator of New Community CBF Church in Buena Vista, said he expects his church of 25 to contribute additional funds.   

Other CBF partner churches — the big, the small, the old and the new — are also showing a mighty response to appeals for funds to meet needs in Southeast Asia.

A love offering at Southmont Baptist Church in Denton, Texas, far exceeded expectations. One of CBF’s Global Missions field personnel spoke about the needs in Southeast Asia and challenged the congregation to collect $10,000 for the purchase of one water purification system. When funds were tallied, more than $70,000 had been contributed. “I’m surprised by the amount, but I’m not surprised the church responded as it did,” said pastor Larry Reynolds, who expects more contributions to come in from church members, as well as the community. “People are looking for a place to give in which they have confidence.”   

First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., which challenged church and community members to match its $50,000 budget surplus contribution, has collected an additional $39,000 as of Jan. 13. 

Even church starts barely off the ground are pouring funds into relief aid. NorthHaven, a 110-member church start that began last April in Norman, Okla., collected $4,546 for Asian relief by devoting its first Sunday of the year offering to disaster relief.  “It just seemed like the best way for a missional church to start off the New Year,” said T Thomas, NorthHaven church member and coordinator of Oklahoma Cooperating Baptist Fellowship.

The church’s relief funds were only a supplement to its Offering for Global Missions contribution of $43,705. 

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