Shelter in the Storm

Chaparral Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas, has turned tornado warnings into ministry opportunities. When a number of mobile homes were moved into their neighborhood, the church surveyed owners about their needs. The response was a tornado shelter. When the church built an activity center, they included a basement that could be used for that purpose. Five members who live nearby were given keys so they could open the shelter when the tornado warning is sounded. More than 100 people came at the first warning.

Marked for Life

After many weeks of volunteer construction in our chapel, we were ready for the carpet layers to cover the plywood subfloor we had nailed in place. But before they did, during a worship service, we invited the people to think about what they hoped Jesus would do in this room. After a few minutes, ushers passed out permanent markers, and we turned people loose to write that request on the floor. They wrote the names of family members who would sit ...