GENERAL

Did hurricane Katrina damage Lakeshore?

Lakeshore Mississippi took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina’s fury. Strong sustained winds (150+ mph) and a 42 foot storm surge destroyed all the homes in this community, leaving its residents without shelter, food, or running water.

Did hurricane Katrina destroy Lakeshore Baptist Church?

Hurricane Katrina completely destroyed the church buildings, but our church still stands strong as we minister to our community.

What is Lakeshore Baptist Church doing to minister to her community in the wake of such devastation?

With the help of volunteers from across the country Lakeshore Baptist Church continues to run a distribution center, clean property, build sheds and decks, rehab houses, construct new homes, encourage the distressed, proclaim the gospel, hold church services, provide Christ-centered God-exalting literature, bath the community in prayer, and point people to our only Hope.

Can we come help with these things?

Absolutely!

Where are you located?

Lakeshore Mississippi sits on the gulf coast, just west of Bay St. Louis and Waveland.

Directions to the Church Property:

Google map: 6028 Lakeshore Road, Lakeshore MS

Make your way to I-10.

From the West:
Traveling east bound on I-10 take Exit 2. Continue right on 607 which becomes Highway 90. Continue on Highway 90 until you see a large Silver Slipper Casino sign. Take the next right, Lakeshore Road. Go 3.3 miles down Lakeshore Road, the church will be on the left.

From the East:
Traveling west bound on I-10 take exit 13. Off the exit take a left at the stop light onto Hwy 603. Continue on 603 until you come the stop light at the Hwy 603 and Hwy 90 intersection. Take a right onto Hwy 90 and continue west. Travel a couple of miles until you see a sign that says Lakeshore and Claremont Harbor to the left. Turn left there onto Lower Bay Rd. Lower bay rd will take you to a four way stop. Turn left. The church will be one mile down Lakeshore Rd on the left.

How do we schedule a trip?

First, Contact Us by calling the church at 228-469-0110 or emailing.

Let us know:

  • The name of your church or organization
  • A contact person’s name, phone number, and email address
  • The dates you want to plan your trip
  • How many males and females will be coming

If no one answers when you call please leave your name and phone number and a message letting them know you’d like to come to Lakeshore and they will return your call.

Then, as soon as you can, contact us with a “skills list” of your team. For example, if you have any experienced tradesmen on your team, like electricians, plumbers, finish carpenters, etc or if you have people experienced in roofing a house, painting, pouring concrete, or any other particular building skill, please let us know. This will help our planning as we look forward to your trip.

TEAM INFO

What kind of volunteer help do you need?

We need roofers, concrete/ slab finishers, electricians, plumbers, framers, folks who can hang and mud sheet rock, finish carpenters, those able to lay flooring, painters, brick masons, and other skilled help. We also need people to cook for the volunteer teams and work in the distribution center.

Do you set age limit restrictions on volunteers?

No, we do not set age restrictions on volunteer groups. We do ask that you remember that you will be working in an active disaster area. We can not provide a completely safe environment for small children or individuals with severe special needs.

What tools should we bring?

The skill level of your team and the projects you plan to tackle on your trip will determine what types of tools you will want to bring. We encourage skilled workers to bring their own tools that correspond to their particular expertise, if possible. We also have a growing collection of tools available for volunteers to use. Feel free to call or email us a week or so before your trip if you have any questions regarding the availability of specific tools.

Overall, we ask that all volunteers bring a mind to work, a heart to serve, and a passion for Christ.

WORK

What kinds of projects should we expect?

The skill level of your team will determine what particular projects you should expect to encounter on a mission trip to Lakeshore. For example, if you have electricians, plumbers, or finish carpenters, we almost certainly will use their skills on one of our many projects. At any given time we have several houses at almost every stage of progress, from pouring a slab or shingling the roof to hooking up appliances or moving in furniture, and pretty much everything in between.

Do you have work for teams without any special skills?

Yes. We always need people to do storm debris and construction clean up. We also need people to work in the distribution center, unload delivery trucks, move building materials, and a whole host of other tasks.

Can you tell me exactly what project we will work on while in Lakeshore?

We ask all teams to come to Lakeshore with flexible plans that bend toward fluidity. While we strive to best utilize special skills to their maximum effect, ever changing circumstances sometimes cause us to shift tasks in midstream. For example, unpredictable thunder storms may move a roofing crew to another house to hang sheet rock, paint, or lay flooring. A donation delivery may pull a clean-up crew off a pile of rubble to unload a truck. Come with a willing flexible attitude and God will use you for His glory.

HOUSING

Do you provide housing for volunteer teams?

Yes. Our ever expanding campus can house volunteers. We can sleep roughly 150 on our church property. We have mobile bunk houses, military style Quonset huts, and cots in the sanctuary and loft. All the buildings now have air conditioning.

Do you have restrooms and showers?

Yes. The two bunk houses each contain a shower. The metal building has two indoor bathrooms with a toilet, sink, and shower in each. We have a trailer house with 4 more showers, two washer/dryers and 4 more toilets. We also have a quonset hut converted into men and women’s restrooms, each containing 5 toilets and 5 showers and several sinks. For over-flow capacity we have two port-a-lets. (no pun intended)

Should we bring our own bedding and toiletries?

Yes. We do provide cots and bunks in our various accommodation options, but you should bring your own sleeping bags, pillows, linen, and air mattresses. Plan to bring your own towels, shampoo, soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste, toiletries etc.

Do you have laundry facilities?

We do have 2 washers and dryers in the shower trailer. We also have a free washateria complete with 5 washing machines and five dryers. Due to space limitations and other concerns, we could not house the washateria on our own church property. The local VFW generously allowed us to build the washateria on their property, just down the road.

Do you provide maid service?

No we do not provide maid service. We ask that every team take turns cleaning the bathrooms and keeping the property clean. We also ask that teams clean their sleeping quarters prior to leaving.

Do you have electricity?

Yes. We have electricity on the church property. Most of the houses we work on have electricity available.

Do you have internet access?

Yes. We have wireless internet service on the church property.

Do you charge a fee for housing volunteers?

No. We feel it would be inappropriate for us to charge people for coming to help us, however it does cost money to operate. We gladly accept donations to defray the cost of food for the week, electricity, propane, gasoline, and other necessities as we continue fueling this large volunteer relief effort.

Are there hotels or campgrounds in the area?

While we would prefer our volunteers to stay with us on the church property, we do have a few hotels and campgrounds in our area.

HOTELS
Coast Inn - (228) 467-8334 404 HWY 90 Waveland MS 39576
Hollywood Casino Hotel - 866-758-2591 711 Hollywood Dr. Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Key West Inn - (228) 466-04441000 Hwy 90 Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Super 8 Motel - (228) 467-25111003 Hwy 90 Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

CAMPGROUNDS
Bay Hide Away RV Park - Bay St Louis Camping - (228) 466-0959
8360 Lakeshore Rd. Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Hollywood Casino RV park - 866-758-2591
711 Hollywood Dr. Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Silver Slipper Campground - 1-866-775-4773
5000 South Beach Blvd. Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

FOOD

Do you provide meals?

Yes. Usually we have more than one team working with us at any given time. One or more of the teams will want to work in the kitchen preparing meals for the rest of the camp site. When you schedule a trip, please let us know if you have folks on your team willing to help prepare meals.

Do you have kitchen facilities?

We do have a well equipped camp kitchen.

If our team volunteers to work in the kitchen where should we get the food to prepare?

We receive an abundance of donated non-perishable restaurant grade food located in our well stocked pantry. We also usually have a good amount of frozen food in the freezers. We ask that you use this food into your meal plans as much as possible. You can find perishable foods, such as milk, eggs, etc and other items you need to supplement in your well rounded meal preparation at Wal-Mart in Waveland or Sam’s Club in Slidell. If the purchases exceed your groups budgeted contribution, save your receipts and turn them into JoEll in the church office and we will gladly reimburse your expenses. Please do not solicit donations from the other volunteer groups.

When you leave, please mark and date any food you leave behind in the freezers or refrigerators. This will help other teams know what they can use.

Can we find local restaurants in the area?

Yes. We have a growing number of restaurants re-opening in the area. If your team plans to eat out for any meal, please let us know so that the folks working in the kitchen can plan accordingly.

Should we bring supplies for your distribution center?

Please feel free to bring supplies for our distribution center. See our needs page for details.

Where is the closest hospital?

We pray that you will not find it necessary to visit the hospital while on your mission trip, but for your reference the closest hospital is Hancock Medical Center, in Bay St. Louis on Hwy 90. Approximately 10 minutes from the church.