CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 23, 2021 – A team of chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) has deployed to Middle Tennessee to provide emotional and spiritual support alongside Samaritan’s Purse after devastating flooding over the weekend.
At least 22 people died and nearly two dozen people are still missing after 17 inches of rain fell on Saturday, shattering the state’s 24-hour rainfall record.
“As we see the devastation and learn of the many lives lost due to flooding in Tennessee, our hearts are broken for those who have had great loss,” said Jack Munday, international director of the BG-RRT. “Our crisis-trained chaplains are there in the midst of this tragedy to provide emotional and spiritual care as the area grieves and begins the recovery process.”
BG-RRT chaplains are spread out across the country and beyond, with active deployments to the Dixie Fire in California, flooding in Tennessee, North Carolina and Michigan, and at Samaritan’s Purse Emergency Field Hospitals in Haiti (earthquake) and Mississippi (coronavirus).
For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit the BG-RRT press kit or BillyGraham.org/RRT. Updates can also be found at Facebook.com/RRTChaplains.
About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team:
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into an international network of chaplains in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 550 disaster sites across the globe, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.
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Media Contact:
Blake Freeland
bfreeland@bgea.org
