Early last Saturday morning (Aug. 31), a horrific bus accident claimed the lives of seven people, injured more than 30 and left still more stranded in Vicksburg. Disoriented and unable to communicate due to language barriers, the survivors were taken to Merit Health River Region Hospital’s atrium as a temporary measure.
The Rev. Ron Burch, director and association strategist for the Warren Baptist Association (WBA), was quick to respond to the call for help with accident survivors. The WBA office is located at 3040 Indiana Ave B. in Vicksburg.
After hearing about the crash, Burch made his way to the hospital early Saturday morning. From his observations of the toll of the mass-casualty incident on staff and victims alike, Burch realized there were many needs to fulfill.
“There was a lot of emotion,” Burch said. “We wanted to minister to them as best as we could. And then, to encourage the staff, the people who were caring for them, we prayed for them.”
As he recounted praying with hospital personnel and victims, Burch said, “There was a lot of hurt. It can be hard not speaking their language.”
Although there was a communication barrier, Burch was able to pass out small crosses, which provided a universal recognition of shared faith.
The WBA consists of 16 local Southern Baptist Convention churches. As needs are identified, Burch coordinates communication with the pastors of these churches, who in turn ask congregations to help. When the idea of preparing care packages for the survivors and hospital staff came about, volunteers from local churches stepped up. At the WBA office, an assembly line was formed, and volunteers put together more than 125 care packages in less than an hour and a half.
The care packages consisted of apples, candy and chips of varying kinds and were all delivered by Tuesday at 10 a.m.
This isn’t the first time WBA has been the hands and feet of Christ, Burch said. He explained the group gathered people together to help after a tornado hit Rolling Fork in 2023.
“We were very active in the tornado at Rolling Fork,” Burch said.
The WBA was able to aid churches in the area following the destruction left by the tornado. From electrical to roofing, the WBA coordinated help rebuilding in the devastated community. They were also able to provide Easter baskets to area children.
Burch explained the WBA strives to fulfill four aspects of the Great Commission.
“We’ve got Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world,” he said.
Jerusalem refers to the immediate community; Judea to outlying communities, such as Rolling Fork; and Samaria covers the rest of Mississippi.
“We’ve got foreign missions efforts in the rest of the world,” Burch added.
In addition to the missions work of the WBA, the office also provides a conference meeting room as needed for church-related business and space for a counselor from Summit Counseling of First Baptist Jackson, who comes weekly to provide counseling services for residents of the surrounding area.
“We work together to come up with a strategy of how we can meet certain needs,” Burch said, referring to the partnership with churches and pastors. “When something like this (bus accident) happens, you need to act immediately. You’ve got to be present.”
Burch acknowledged times like this are also difficult for frontline workers.
“I can only imagine the emotional trauma, when all of a sudden, this is placed in the hospital system. From the emergency room, the intensive care unit, on the floors, everyone is involved. Even Emergency Management folk are coming into every unit . . . the whole scope of the medical field at Merit was involved,” Burch said.
Burch said he hopes to continue helping in the aftermath of the bus accident.
“We still have some other matters to tend to,” he said.
Burch said he finds guidance from Titus 3:14, which says (New King James Version), “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.”
“God expects Christians . . . to meet the needs of people,” Burch added.
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