The week after Katrina hit, during my church's regular Wednesday-night prayer service, there was a great deal of discussion about the hurricane victims and concerns about how we, as a church, could help. It was decided that our first plan of action should focus on our members who have family directly affected by the storm. Our business manager, Selmore Haines, designed a comprehensive ministry plan for our church. Our hurricane relief effort involves the activities of 15 different committees, including Logistics, Intercessory Prayer, Counseling, Transportation, Housing Bank, Meals, Entertainment, and Financial Assistance. An emergency meeting was scheduled for the following evening, and the plan was introduced. In the days that followed, our members signed up for the different committees and began donating money, food, clothing and other necessary items. Additionally, we started by purchasing sixty $50 gift cards from Wal-Mart to assist families.

A New Backpack
One of our young-married members contacted us shortly after the hurricane. He had family members who had come from New Orleans, expecting to stay in his Dallas apartment for a couple of days and return home. Instead, 40 relatives, ranging in age from his grandmother to 5-month-old twins, quickly realized they had no home to return to and decided to start life anew in Texas. With the grandmother's strong encouragement, the adults immediately began registering for aid, searching for employment, and applying for apartments. Right away, our church was able to assist the families with food, gas, clothing donations, and hygiene items. When our young member, obviously exhausted from the stress and responsibility, came by to pick up some of the donations, I reminded him that God could make good things come out of even this terrible situation. He smiled a little and acknowledged, "Well, for a long time, I've wanted my family to come to Dallas. Now almost all of them are here."

In the days that followed, this family secured aid and apartments, with our church's relief committees helping wherever needed. Other church members were able to travel to Louisiana and other Gulf Coast areas to check on their relatives and bring them back to their homes in the Dallas area. Our church provided Wal-Mart gift cards for gas and emergency needs, furniture, sheets and pillows, and other items that would help.

One of the most moving experiences occurred in our fellowship hall when we were assisting evacuees. We transformed our fellowship hall into a shopping center of sorts. Pants, shirts, shoes, suits, undergarments, socks, ties, coats, sweaters, and many more items were displayed for the families to take what they needed. One little girl, who appeared to be 4 or 5, went back to the clothing area. She looked sad, and obviously displaced. She walked over to a section where there were items for kids. One of the items was a brand-new backpack.

The little girl picked up the backpack and placed it on her back, and her sad countenance turned into the biggest smile. It was as though new life entered her again. As a pastor, I will never forget that moment. It broke and blessed my heart at the same time.

Expanding Out
We soon realized that our relief efforts would need to extend beyond our members' families. One day a woman stopped by the church to ask for directions. She had recently left Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas to stay with her daughter and was looking for a Wal-Mart. Tired, stressed, and overwhelmed, she was also feeling ill because of low blood sugar. She asked us for something to drink. As she recuperated, she shared her story of ending up with her daughter and son-in-law and his family.

She was deeply concerned because the living arrangements were already stressful. She had moved to a hotel to ease the tension, and she was expecting an additional 15 family members to arrive that day from Houston. We asked what she needed, and she said, "I really don't know." So we prayed with her, and then gave her a few gift cards to get what she needed at the Wal-Mart. It was then that tears streamed from eyes. "I've been trying not to cry," she said. But cry she did, for at least five minutes. We cried with her.

The next morning she called the church to give us an update. She had found an apartment to share with her mother. fema covered her hotel bill. She said, "I don't know what date today is, but I know it's a Friday and I know I'm happy." Oh, and would it be okay with us if she used the gift cards at Sam's Club instead Wal-Mart?

Our Purpose on Earth
One of our members has a brother in Alabama who prefers to act, rather than stand on the sidelines. Watching the people in New Orleans, stranded in the flooding city, he decided he had to do something. So he chartered three buses, contracted drivers, and headed for the city himself. Somehow, he was able to get to the people and returned to Alabama with 300 rescued evacuees. Our church assisted with his expenses for the trip.

These are a few things that we've done so far. Like many congregations throughout the nation, we are employing the spiritual gifts and generosity of our members to share God's love with those who have lost their homes, their possessions, and, in some cases, their family members. Our philosophy is to be both deliberate in our actions and open to whatever opportunities God may present to us.

It sounds trite to say at this time, but every disaster has a silver lining—an opportunity to turn suffering into something useful and redemptive. Hurricane Katrina has reminded the Christian community of its true purpose on Earth. It has given us a chance to be salt and light—to feed the hungry, to give shelter to the stranger, to clothe the naked, and to comfort the sick. In short, it has challenged us to be a visible representation of Christ to others (Matt. 25:35-40). We are called to this during both the big and small storms of people's lives.

Our Lord tells us that the rain and floods will come and that the winds will blow and slam against our homes (Matt. 7:25). In the same breath, however, He gives us the solution for survival by encouraging us to build our lives upon the Rock.

Jesus is the Rock. We do not know when the storms of life will come, but we will be victorious after the storm if we have a thriving relationship with Christ. This is the message that we should spread to the world through both our words and actions. And to God be the glory.

Dr. Tony Mathews is senior pastor of North Garland Baptist Fellowship, a multicultural and multiracial church in Garland, Texas. He is the author of There's More Than One Color in the Pew. For more information about his church, visit www.ngbf.org.

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