As Hurricane Helene Moves Out, Convoy of Hope Moves In

UPDATE: Sept. 30 -- AG News has learned that Hurricane Helene and resulting tornadoes and heavy rains have significantly damaged AG churches in North Carolina and Georgia with the total number of churches damaged still unclear due to a lack of cell service and access. Other districts/networks are still awaiting reports. Remarkably, Perry First Assembly of God remains the only AG church to have reported any significant damage (roof and water) in Florida. In addition, Convoy of Hope has established aid distribution sites in Perry and Steinhatchee and is working to provide relief supplies to the Tampa area. Convoy trucks are also being sent to Georgia and North Carolina, however road closures have made access challenging. More complete information concerning church damages is expected to be available to the district/network offices on Tuesday. AG News will provide an update.

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Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend region of Florida as a brutal Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph late Thursday night, but it unexpectedly veered east of Tallahassee, making landfall in Taylor County. Helene then quickly headed north into Georgia and onto the Carolinas, dropping to a tropical storm within hours. However, at least 20 deaths have been reported, millions are without power, and flooding is extensive throughout the storm’s path.

“We’re fortunate it went to the east of the population center of Tallahassee as it was in the bullseye,” says Ethan Forhetz, the national spokesperson for Convoy of Hope and who was in Tallahassee as part of an advanced assessment team. “However, it did hit the rural towns of Perry, Steinhatchee, and others and we’re driving to that area right now to assess the damages.”

"The Lord really protected us -- we have no significant damage (in the district) aside from some water damage (to churches) and limbs down," says Terry Raburn, Peninsular Florida district superintendent. "We really dodged a bullet with the storm surge in Tampa Bay, so praise God — He's good to us!"

As Forhetz rode out the storm in Tallahassee, he says 14 Convoy of Hope big rigs were stationed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, outside of the storm’s path. The trucks are already on the road, with current plans trending toward setting up the work camp and distribution location in the Perry area.

“We worked out of Perry First Assembly of God last year after Hurricane Idalia struck the Big Bend area (August 2023),” Forhetz says. “But we’ve learned the church had roof damage, so we’ll still be working with that church, it just won’t be from their parking lot.”

Forhetz explains that many of the trucks currently en route are to enable the Convoy of Hope teams to be self-sustainable while on location for the days and weeks to come. However, he expects that a distribution site will be set up and in operation by Saturday.

“We have two or three trucks (in the initial convoy of 14) filled with relief supplies,” Forhetz says. “The trucks (with relief) will move in and out constantly as additional trucks will be coming every day from our world distribution center in Springfield.”

Forhetz says that one of the big challenges for the compassion organization is locating a place large enough to set up a distribution site that can handle 500 or 600 cars a day while not causing traffic problems. However, he’s confident a location will be found as truckloads of food, water, hygiene kits, tarps, cleaning supplies and all the things people need following a large-scale disaster will arrive within a few hours with many more trucks on the way.

 For information on assisting those affected by Hurricane Helene, please visit AG Disaster Relief.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.