Johnny DeRossett has been volunteering with the Southern Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief Team for many years.
Now, with DeRossett still recovering from an accident that occurred in mid-April, the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team decided to come to Albany and help DeRossett clear downed trees and debris from his farm.
“They just wanted to do something to help him,” DeRossett’s sister Carol Denney said. “He has hundreds of trees down on his farm.”
All of the wood cut up from the downed trees will be donated to John Asberry, who burns wood for heat in the winter months.
“They just donate their time,” Denney said. “It’s definitely a good thing. We thought the least we could do was feed them.”
The members of Pikeview Baptist Church prepared a meal for the disaster relief team on Friday as a “thank you” for helping DeRossett.
The SBDR team is made up of volunteers all across the state.
They provide many different types of aid including food, water, childcare, showers, laundry, repairs, rebuilding and more.
Keith Stinson, SBDR volunteer, said any one of the members who came to Albany can take a crew of eight to 10 people and lead them.
“I think there are 37 states involved in the disaster relief team,” Stinson said. “It kind of works like a volunteer fire department. If you have something that needs your help in your community then you help with that, but if there’s something big somewhere else, you call the next community over and kind of work it out across the state.”
Stinson said they will help anyone regardless, but the disaster relief team is also a ministry.
“We are never pushy with anyone, but we will take an opportunity to share Christ,” Stinson said. “We have chainsaw groups, we have flood groups and we have child care groups. They will set up in a church or something so parents can go clean up their home or take care of what they need to for the insurance company. They can rest assured it’s a safe place for their children to be.”
Stinson said he’s been a volunteer for SBDR since 1994.
“The work is secondary,” Stinson said. “If a homeowner or anyone wants to talk whether you’re witnessing or they just need to just talk to let them get out what they’ve been through, that comes first.”

Bro. Lonnie Marcum, Deacon at Pikeview Baptist Church, spoke to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team Friday as the team took a short break for lunch. The team had spent the morning clearing and cutting trees on Johnny DeRossett’s farm.