Home > Today's Christian
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> July/August
A Flood of Mercy
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, churches throughout the South are opening their doors to evacuees.
By Mark Ellis; Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
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A dentist in the church volunteered to do root canals and crowns at no charge for three evacuees in need of attention. Since the church lacks adequate restroom and shower facilities, evacuees are going into members' homes to get cleaned up.
"This is a tremendous wake-up call for the church," Pastor Rogers says. "I won't say God caused this," he says. "It could be the judgment of God because there's been enough sin in our lives. I think God is also dealing with us about our lack of compassion for our fellow man."
After the 9/11 attacks, attendance at Living Word Church swelled for several Sundays and a few people found salvation in Christ. "It only lasted about a month, but now our whole church is turned upside down and people are afraid about the future," Pastor Rogers observes. "We're working around the clock, and we know things won't be the same for a good while."
"We're sandwiched between Matthew 22 and Matthew 28," Pastor Rogers says. "God has been breaking my heart and showing me I had spiritual pride in my life," he says. "He wants to squeeze that out of me and restore a genuine love for Him and for others."
Pastor Rogers canceled his camp meeting budget of several thousand dollars, and diverted the funds to the church's relief effort. "Our ministry is what we're doing right now," he says, "not just having another meeting."
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Mark Ellis is a Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net) from which this article was reprinted. He is also an assistant pastor in Laguna Beach, California.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine.
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