(AgapePress) - The Southern Baptist Convention is mobilizing volunteers to assist victims in areas ravaged by deadly storms.

Officials with the SBC are assessing damage and needs in Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Numerous people died as severe storms and numerous tornadoes tore through the states over the weekend. Joel Phillips, off-site disaster coordinator for the SBC, says victims and volunteers need prayer.

"Part of what we do is not only meet the physical needs, but we're concerned about the spiritual needs as well," Phillips says. "I would like our folks to be in prayer for those that have lost life, those people who are injured, and those rescue workers that are going into the sites to do the evaluations."

Phillips says tragedies often provide opportunities for the spread of the gospel. "I'm reminded that Jesus often met somebody at their point of need, and then shared the eternal truth of salvation and what God could do for them," he says.

"That's what we try to do, and we always keep that in the forefront with the faith-based disaster response. We're not there just to do something physically for them -- to cut a tree or give them something to eat -- but we're there to share Christ."

Phillips says volunteers will take part in a number of relief efforts such as helping victims cut and clear debris from their homes, and setting up mobile kitchens to provide hot meals for storm victims and emergency personnel.

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