This article was written using reports from Elaine Johns and Baptist Messenger staff articles.
Within hours of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, leaders with Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief were preparing to send chaplains to New York City, where grief and loss were deep and spiritual care was urgently needed.
The mission required more than willing chaplains. It required access to airspace that had gone silent after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. God opened a door through Northwest Aero Services in Enid, owned by Elaine Johns.
Johns said the day began with a call from a friend who had seen a news report that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. “I immediately joined her in prayer,” Johns said. “Kneeling beside my chair, I prayed for our country, our leaders and the families affected by this act of terrorism.”
Like millions of Americans, Johns watched as the second plane struck the towers, the Pentagon was attacked and another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. She prayed that people would find hope in Jesus Christ, not knowing her aviation company soon would help carry that hope into one of the nation’s darkest places.
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief’s response grew from experience gained after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. That painful history helped prepare Oklahoma chaplains to minister after the attacks in New York.
Sam Porter, then serving as Oklahoma Baptists’ disaster relief director, began assembling a team. The need was immediate. Airports were closed, schedules were shattered and the country remained on edge. Yet the request was clear: Get chaplains to New York as soon as possible.
At the same time, Angel Flight had received clearance to move blood supplies toward New York. Blood was urgently needed near Ground Zero, where rescue and recovery workers faced devastation few could imagine. The effort offered a powerful picture of a greater truth: Just as blood had to be carried to a place of death so wounded people might live, the blood of Jesus Christ was given once for all so sinners could be forgiven and find the way to salvation.
Johns said she received a call from Gene Downing, an Angel Flight member, asking whether she could send a flight of chaplains from Oklahoma City to New York within the hour. Johns contacted her chief flight instructor, Raymond, who began preparing for the mission while mechanics readied the aircraft.
“I was honored to provide the transportation, personnel and aircraft for chaplains who would bring comfort and healing to a city desperate for hope,” Johns said.
Another providential detail unfolded. A Jewish businessman from New Jersey, in Enid for work and desperate to return home, also was an experienced pilot. After clearance was granted, he joined the flight in the right seat. The plane left Enid, picked up the remaining passengers in Oklahoma City and headed toward New York.
Among those connected with the Oklahoma response were Porter and Joe Williams, who had served as Johns’ interim pastor at Enid, Calvary. During the flight, the businessman heard the Gospel as chaplains spoke with him. Johns’ company covered the remaining fuel, the pilot’s salary, maintenance, parking and other costs.
Looking back, Johns said she can see how God prepared her for that moment. “God carried me through each challenge and helped the business continue forward,” she said. “Through that season, I learned to think strategically—and that preparation mattered.”
For Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, the mission became part of a larger Southern Baptist ministry presence that served in New York for months after the attacks. Chaplains prayed with first responders, ministered near the temporary morgue and stood with people as they confronted grief beyond words.
The yellow shirts of Disaster Relief could not remove the rubble or undo the violence of Sept. 11. But they could enter the suffering with Scripture, prayer, presence and compassion. The flight from Oklahoma became a mercy mission carrying messengers of the Gospel into a place that needed immediate comfort and eternal hope.
“By God’s grace, all of those steps prepared me to play a small role in a special service of grace to people in another state, at a time when millions were searching for comfort and hope,” Johns said.
As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief remembers not only the devastation of that day but also the faithfulness of God in opening doors.
The same God who made a way through closed skies made a way for chaplains to stand among the hurting. The same Savior whose blood makes the way to salvation continues to send His people with help, hope and healing wherever disaster strikes.
Editor’s Note: The preceding article was written with source material from The Baptist Messenger and Elaine Johns, who is a member of Enid, First. Computer software assistance was utilized for editing, clarity and assistance. For more information about Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, visit www.okdisasterhelp.org.
