Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief Brings: Help, Hope and Healing

Already this year, we have experienced multiple wildfires and severe storms. CBDR has been on a constant ALERT and STANDBY status for the many wildfires, potential tornadoes, and hailstorms, but we have not had to deploy yet as local communities have been able to take care of their needs. Our volunteers have still been very busy as we have been maintaining our 12-vehicle fleet, making sure it is ready to deploy at any time. We have been told by State officials that this summer and fall may be highly active with fires and other severe weather, and they will be looking to CBDR to deploy and work with cleanup efforts. As you may know, we are the largest Colorado organization for disaster work in our state. We are highly respected by the local Emergency Managers, Colorado COVOAD (Colorado Organizations Active in Disasters), along with our local government leaders. 

For the last two years, CBDR has been leasing a warehouse (horse arena) in Thornton. This is the first time in 30 years that our vehicles and supplies have been undercover in a building. All those years, our vehicles and trailers have been in fields and outdoors on church properties, wilting away with all the harsh Colorado weather. This facility is such a blessing, and we can see God’s hand in all this. We are looking for ways to purchase the 8.5 acres of land this building is on. There are 14 existing buildings on this property; many of them can use a facelift and be utilized for training. Our long-term goal is to develop this property into a Disaster Relief Training Facility. This would be open to our national SBDR teams along with local organizations like the fire departments, CERT, Red Cross, and others. The asking price for this property is $2.4 M, which may seem like a lot to many, but God has a way to make this possible if it is his will!

This past April, National PETE (National Partnership for Environmental Technology Education), which is one of our ministry partners, came to look at this site and walked the entire 8.5 acres and was extremely impressed with all the potential this has.  Once we get a long-term lease or can purchase the property, they will move their Florida training site here to our site in Colorado! 

At the first CBDR Open House we had last year, I shared the vision about what we could do standing on the back patio just looking out over the property. We just completed our second Open House and were able to walk the entire property to show the buildings and share more about how this property benefits this ministry that brings: Help, Hope, and Healing to those in need! We also had two DHS (Department of Homeland Security) leaders attend the Open House, and they were very impressed and are sharing with others about our needs to see this become a Disaster Training Center.

I would like to invite YOU to come and tour this property and see how God is leading in this Vision that will benefit our Colorado Disaster Relief Training, our CBGC churches and many organizations in utilizing this future training facility.