CHARLOTTE, NC — The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) is deploying alongside Samaritan’s Purse to Bartlesville/Barnsdall, Oklahoma, after multiple tornadoes ripped through a 37-mile area, damaging and destroying hundreds of homes and utilities in Osage County, north of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“We’ve seen an unbelievable outbreak of tornadoes across the Midwest over the last few weeks – with 58 having been reported in Oklahoma alone. But those who have survived these storms are not alone,” said Josh Holland, international director of the BG-RRT. “The crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are heading to Osage County to provide spiritual and emotional care to those affected by the destruction caused by this week’s tornadoes and to share a message of hope with them.”

BG-RRT chaplains will arrive in the Tulsa region today, May 8, to minister to those in the community who suffered damage and loss due to the storms.

BG-RRT chaplains are now providing emotional and spiritual support in five locations. Along with Northeast Oklahoma, chaplains are also in Minden, Iowa, Slidell, Louisiana, and Rock Hill, South Carolina, after storms impacted those cities in late April. Chaplains are also offering hope and providing emotional comfort and spiritual care to families who have been forced to flee their homes in war-torn Ukraine.

For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit the BG-RRT press kit or BillyGraham.org/RRT. Updates can also be found at Facebook.com/RRTChaplains.

About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into an international network of chaplains in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 800 disaster sites across the globe, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.

Media Opportunities

• Interviews with:
  • Josh Holland, international director of the BG-RRT
  • Chaplain coordinators in Northeast Oklahoma
• B-Roll and photos (please use with credit to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
• Interview request form

MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Moseley, lmoseley@bgea.org

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