In the wake of the historic flood that hit our region, many of our members are wondering how they can help. We will be updating you guys as we learn more, but here are some ideas to start with:
- Start with your LifeGroup. Make sure needs are met short term and long term. I've heard tons of stories of people opening homes, providing meals and clean water. This is beautiful and exactly what the church should be doing. Over the next few days people hit hard will have all sorts of needs...maybe clothes, furniture, temporary residence, toys for kids, etc. Let's be prepared to meet any needs in our church family that arise.
- Check on your physical neighbors. Jesus called us to love our neighbors, which doesn't just mean the people who live nearby, but it certainly includes them. Make sure they are safe and taken care of.
- Check our Facebook page. We've asked people to share needs there. If something is brought up that you can do, do it!
- Feel no need to insta-brag. Jesus said we should practice our acts of kindness quietly, not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. That doesn't mean it has to be a secret. It just means our righteousness is secure and we have no need to self-promote. Don't turn your good deeds into a personal PR campaign.
- Be on the lookout for serving opportunities through Day Mission Trips. We are currently working on some ways to organize our church family to specifically help those who were hit the hardest. Be on the lookout for more information.
- Feel no need to panic about supplies and resources. If you're watching the news, it might be easy to believe that there are mile-long lines for food, shelter, and water. For the most part, that's not the case. Water is available at the Metropolitan Convention Center (among other places), and shelter is readily available at A.C. Flora (among other places). We are also hoping to partner with Red Cross to connect families in need of shelter with host families. Stay tuned for more details on that.
- Be in it for the long haul. As many have mentioned, things will probably get worse before they get better. It's easy to chip in and help now, but in a few days, we'll need just as much man-power (if not more). Houses will need to be gutted and repaired, families will need help finding transitional housing, and people will need to be served and loved ongoingly. Helping may look a lot more like a marathon than a sprint.
- Pray. Prayer is not wasted effort. Many have lost everything and we want to pray for God to comfort, to draw people to Himself in the midst of this tragedy, and to mobilize His church to meet needs of all kinds. Let's pray for our region.
- Give. We have set up a fund to help with immediate relief to families in the area. 100% of funds raised will go to helping families with food, water, and clothing needs.