Give to Help #SCFloods Victims

As we've been spending time with victims of the South Carolina floods, we've noticed a few things. In general, there is no shortage of volunteers, food, or water. What is needed is some monetary assistance to help these families and individuals get back on their feet. For many of them, they were forced to evacuate their homes, leaving everything or most everything behind to be consumed by the flood.

As a church, we want to help provide for these families monetarily. Our plan is to get gift cards for as many families as we can so that they can get started rebuilding their lives.

Using the link below, you can give any amount to help provide these gift cards. 100% of donations will go towards helping these families recover from the disaster.

Help with Demolition & Restoration for #SCFloods Victims

Sign up below to assist with demo and restoration work in the Columbia area. Members of our church family are working with others to help people in their neighborhood recover and restore their homes. We are looking for anyone willing get dirty and help move furniture, rip up carpet, remove drywall, and the like.

Anyone is welcome to sign up.

Adopt-A-Family Affected by #SCFloods

Sign up to adopt a family that's been affected by the South Carolina floods. We are looking for people to: 

• Build a relationship with the adopted family 
• Take them out of the shelter at times and spend time together
• Take them to stores to get things they need (we can provide financial assistance if needed )

How to Help Flood Victims

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.