thanks to you - Baptist Bible Tribune

Far left: A wall of flames approaches
Yorba Linda. Center: Only charred
rubble remained where Calvary
Baptist Church member Becky Bates'
home once stood. Inset: Calvary Baptist
pastor Brian Moore. Top right: Fire
crews respond to a blazing hillside.
listen to them about their personal
experiences.”
Jon Konnerup had to walk a mile
and a half back to his hotel after they
closed the roads off that led up to it.
A small inconvenience compared to
many. He witnessed our community
and our church in a time of crisis and
went on to say, “We (the missionaries)
are used to being the ones ‘putting out
fires’ around the world. This time the
emergency was here in Yorba Linda
and we were blessed and impressed to
see Calvary Baptist pull their forces
together, reach out, and help the community.”
Calvary Baptist Church of Yorba
Linda did not miss a beat. During the
first hours of the fire, our staff members
immediately phoned all our members.
They made sure all evacuees had
shelter, food, medicine, childcare, whatever
they needed. For those without a
place to go, many of our church members
opened their homes to displaced
families. The church opened its doors
as well. We had some families sleeping
over in the youth room. We prayed with
many of them. Our parking lot looked
like a temporary RV park.
Pastor Brian and Youth Pastor
Colston Copeland drove up through
neighborhoods, helping the young, the
old, and even the pregnant evacuate,
and managed to pry open some garage
doors for some thankful residents.
Power was out and many people could
not get their cars out of the garage.
Sadly, one of our longtime members,
Becky Bates, did lose her home.
She describes the moment she found
she had lost her home. “I had to walk
up that hill [to my house]. It nearly
killed me. I’m not a young woman. My
heart was beating 1,000 beats a minute.
When I finally reached my street,
several of the homes were burned
down. Before I saw it, I knew my house
was gone. There were so many people
there. When they realized I was the
homeowner they all flipped out their
cameras. It was all too much to absorb.”
When asked about her plans, she
replied, “I’m not sure about my future,
but I do know that this is all part of
God’s plan. I've been thinking a lot
about Romans 8:28 the last couple
of days. I will call upon the Lord no
matter how great or small the problem.
Through all of this I’ve found out
who my true friends are. Many of my
friends at Calvary have called, prayed
for me, and offered me assistance during
this difficult time. This is a blessing
in disguise. I received a phone call
from my daughter I haven’t heard from
in two years. I pray that God will give
me the grace to handle everything that
comes my way.”
Pastor Moore summed it up in a
statement; “Yorba Linda, for the most
part, is a very white-collar, upper-class
city. It isn’t often that people in our city
experience heartbreaking struggles.
For one weekend our congregation
experienced a crisis. I’m convinced that
people come to know Christ during
times of trouble, tension, or transition.
This experience gave our church an
opportunity to be the hands and feet of
Jesus. Many Christ followers sacrificially
gave of their money, bought food,
met and prayed with their neighbors,
provided comfort to those that have
lost their homes, and have showed one
another the love of Christ. That was
the theme for our mission conference.
Our church was reminded that many
around the world are in a constant
state of crisis. We must take the gospel
across the street and around the world.
This was a missions week that our
church will never forget!”
Baptist Bible Tribune [ January 2009 ] 11