Articles for tag: Disaster Relief

June 22, 2019

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Two Rivers Church, New Bern, N.C.

Uniquely Positioned to Help the Community By Chris Moon As Hurricane Florence tore across North Carolina last September, Two Rivers Church in New Bern was at the center of it all. Thousands of homes in the city were severely flooded. People were coping with major damage to their homes. A massive reconstruction effort was about to launch. And Two Rivers Church was in the right place at the right time—at least that’s the way lead minister David McCants views it.  “It’s given us an opportunity to be the church we say we are,” McCants said. “If we say we love

April 25, 2019

Christian Standard

UNCONVENTIONAL: The Story of Ekklesia Christian Church—the Church Matt Wilson Didn’t Plan to Plant

“God did it all.” That, in just four words, is how church planter Matt Wilson tells the story of Ekklesia Christian Church since the congregation’s launch in June 2014. In his characteristically self-effacing way, the 37-year-old Wilson says, “I don’t know how other churches grow, but every year, God comes through with some completely off-the-wall way for our church to grow.” In the last five years, Wilson jokes, “God took this little hick from South Carolina and showed him what faith was.” A Desire to Do What God Is Behind Wilson comes from a family of ministers. His father was

November 13, 2018

Christian Standard

Mix, Weigh, Seal, Ship: Packing Meals and Sharing Jesus’ Love

Lifeline Christian Mission partners with churches, schools, and others to provide the supplies—and opportunities—to serve people locally and globally through food-packing events.   By Ben Simms Mix. Weigh. Seal. Ship. These four simple steps involve several generations, as participants gather to package shelf-stable meals for the hungry. A meal-packing event is one of the easiest and most popular ways to engage a group of people, whether large or small, in a service project together. The fun begins as you bring your group together, whether it’s your church, school, or employees. You host the meal-packing event at your location across the

September 17, 2018

Christian Standard

Carolina Churches Cope with Hurricane

Hurricane Florence made landfall in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., on Friday and it continues to drop a massive amount of rain in the Eastern United States. Millions of people and thousands of churches have been affected. We encourage church leaders to share news about their churches and how they are coping with the effects of the hurricane. Most importantly, please share how Christian churches and churches of Christ across the county can help. Comment below or send the information to **@********************ia.com. _ _ _ Two Rivers Church of Christ in New Bern, N.C., offers folks a way to contribute to hurricane

April 28, 2018

Christian Standard

Finding Hope in the Numbers

By Emily Drayne In the six-plus years I’ve served with the International Conference on Missions (ICOM), I’ve learned that determining the total number of active missionaries is like trying to hold water in your hands. Both are difficult, slippery, and elusive, but I’ve found it’s possible to count missionaries if you do your research and find credible sources. The biggest challenges we face as we count missionaries include these: some serve in sensitive areas and closed countries (and the sponsoring groups are less apt to publicize information about them); some are transitioning to a new location; some are leaving the

January 30, 2018

Christian Standard

Beauty Out of the Storm

The “Big C” Church shows up to provide a flood of support after Harvey By Tim Liston Hurricane Harvey, the first Category 4 storm to hit the United States since 2004, made landfall south of us on August 26, 2017. That put Houston on the “dirty” or rainy side of the storm. To make matters worse, Harvey stayed on top of Houston for days, pulling water from the Gulf of Mexico and dropping it on the region. Water rose in the streets, with every highway in Houston impassable because of flooding. At one point, nearly 10 inches of rain fell

September 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Florida Churches Respond to Hurricane Irma

By Jim Nieman In the end, no one in Florida””and virtually no property””was safe when Hurricane Irma tore through the Sunshine State on Sunday and into Monday, September 10 and 11. Many churches started warning people about the potential dangers of the storm on Tuesday, September 5. Crosspoint Christian Church in Cape Coral, for example, sent out this message via Facebook at 12:32 p.m. that day: “We need help getting Crosspoint ready to ride out the storm ““ moving furniture, playground equipment, securing the campus. . . .” By early the next morning, Crosspoint lead pastor Jeff Swearingen and leaders

September 6, 2017

Christian Standard

Harvey Recovery Efforts Are Ongoing

By Jim Nieman Dale Smith has been very pleased with the Hurricane Harvey flooding-related recovery efforts at Cy-Fair Christian Church, Houston, Texas. “It”s been very, very busy, but it is going fantastic,” the church”s interim lead pastor said. “There are challenges, but God is just showing his favor.” Smith cites some statistics: “157 people in the church have volunteered to help. We have 57 people out serving on 7 teams today.” Some teams are being organized to work evenings, as well. (The church averages 300 to 350 for weekend worship.) Smith said an out-of-state minister told him in recent days

September 1, 2017

Christian Standard

Harvey Recovery: News and Notes

We’re getting numerous updates about churches impacted by Hurricane Harvey and its soaking rains that flooded Greater Houston and much of the Gulf Coast area at the end of August, and we’re receiving news from churches and ministries that have launched efforts to help people and churches in those areas. Send updates to **@********************ia.com. (We will also try to share a few photos of recovery efforts; please send the images as attachments, and provide captions, one image per e-mail.) Here are some of the reports we’re receiving, along with some ways to help (we’re placing the newest items at the

August 31, 2017

Christian Standard

Houston-area Churches Coping with Harvey Flooding

Also read “Creekside Fellowship Helping Shelter Storm Victims” and “Church Riding Out Storm in Katy, Texas.” ________ By Jim Nieman Tim Liston, senior pastor of New Hope Church, a multisite megachurch with four locations mainly south of Houston, posted a “Hurricane Harvey Devotional” Sunday based on Matthew 8. In it, Liston says, “The best place to be in a storm is with Jesus.” New Hope, like most churches in the Greater Houston area, were forced to cancel onsite services Sunday because of the storm that has dumped, in some places, more than 50 inches of rain since Friday. When we

August 28, 2017

Christian Standard

Church Riding Out Storm in Katy, Texas

Here are two updates to this story (as of 5 p.m. Tuesday): Current””A Christian Church has set up a relief page on its website where people can make financial donations for relief efforts. Go to www.currentchristian.org/harveyrelief. Of the money collected, 100 percent will go to relief efforts. Also, the church already has teams out doing construction work, and removing damaged carpet and drywall. Other teams are working to meet a variety of community needs, such as helping with supplies at schools and shelters. x x x By Chris Moon Nathan Rymer, executive pastor at Current””A Christian Church in Katy, Texas, was

April 29, 2015

Christian Standard

You Can Help Nepal

By Jennifer Johnson Many mission agencies and international ministries are working to provide relief, support, and financial resources to those affected by Saturday”s devastating earthquake in Nepal. Central India Christian Mission, which has worked in Nepal the last 15 years, writes, “On a typical Saturday morning, many Nepalese churches meet for weekly worship services. On Saturday, April 25th, at 11:56 am when many Nepalese brothers and sisters in Christ were worshipping, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred. It destroyed almost everything in the country. From Saturday until now, approximately 45 earthquakes have happened in the country. It has brought huge destruction.

May 9, 2014

Christian Standard

Bob Russell Says, ‘I Love the Church!’

By Bob Russell A prominent ad for a new church plant reads, “Church doesn”t have to suck! Happy hour service this Sunday at 10:30 a.m.” Some might smile at that trendy message and regard it as a creative attention-getter, but the not-so-subtle implication is that most churches are boring and ineffective. Frankly, I”m tired of people bashing the church of Jesus Christ. I”m not referring to the world”s ridicule of the church””that”s expected. I”m referring to the criticism of the church from within. Popular Christian authors, convention speakers, parachurch leaders, and “cutting-edge” preachers frequently heap scorn on the bride of

April 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Ministry When the Tornado Rumbles

By Paul Boatman Shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 17, 2013, an EF-4 tornado, with winds nearing 200 mph, cut a devastating quarter-mile wide swath through Washington, Illinois. Jeff Browning, lead pastor, and Jon Pittman, worship/youth minister, were leading services at Washington Christian Church as the storm roared through the city, narrowly missing the church building. This interview took place two weeks later.   Tell about your experience. Jeff Browning: When we heard tornado sirens after Sunday school, we got people into tornado shelter areas, but when an ominous dark cloud blew past and the sky appeared to be

September 27, 2013

Christian Standard

Images of Colorado Flooding

LifeBridge Christian Church staff member Drew Depler, who is coordinating disaster relief efforts for the Longmont, Colorado, church, provided CHRISTIAN STANDARD with a number of photos of flooding near the church, and recovery efforts in and around the church. The photos were taken in the days after the flooding started. A slow-moving cold front that stalled over the state clashed with warm, humid air from the south, producing heavy rain starting September 9, 2013, and ultimately catastrophic flooding. Disasters have been declared in more than a dozen Colorado counties.

September 18, 2013

Christian Standard

Colorado Churches Helping Flood Victims

By Jennifer Johnson Several Christian churches in Colorado have been key in helping victims of the floods that damaged more than 18,000 homes and left many other residents without power and running water.   “¢ LifeBridge Christian Church (Longmont, CO) has served as one of the primary evacuation centers since last Thursday, assisting thousands of people and working with city and county officials as well as leaders from relief organizations. LBCC says it doesn”t need any immediate donations of food, water, or clothing, but will probably need more as rescue turns to recovery. “The LifeBridge site was almost a study

January 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Church Returns Favor by Helping Victims

By Jennifer Johnson In April 2011, Alabama was hit by more than 170 tornados””one of the largest outbreaks of tornadic storms in the area”s history. Although Huntsville (AL) Christian Church“s building wasn”t affected, its community was. “People went without power for weeks, and we used part of our building as a huge food pantry,” says associate minister Andrew Ellingwood. “We get tornadoes every year, and people always pull together. But this was so big we all needed help. Churches across the country sent food and water, and mission teams visited to participate in the cleanup efforts. Every week there was

December 11, 2012

Christian Standard

Spiritual Gifts

By Jennifer Johnson In February we wrote about the history, goals, and current projects of eight missions agencies supported by Christian churches and churches of Christ. (Visit Christian Standard”s website to read the articles*.) As the year comes to a close, we invited each organization to share its “Christmas wish list.” Here are their most pressing needs and how you can help during this season of giving.   Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI) Christian Missionary Fellowship works with a variety of missionaries and leads a number of programs around the world, from developing international campus ministries to improving the lives

July 13, 2012

Christian Standard

A Widow’s Faith

By Karen Wingate On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado bulldozed through the south side of Joplin, Missouri, demolishing a regional hospital, nine schools (including the high school and adjoining tech school), several large stores, churches, businesses, and more than 8,000 homes. Hundreds were injured, and 163 died. In the ensuing months, relief came from across the country. This is the story of just one of those efforts, as churches in 21 small western Illinois communities helped a young widow rebuild her home. As they worked, they saw God rebuild relationships and restore faith. After the violent storm subsided, Stephanie

April 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Unexpectedly Sweet

By Mark A. Taylor A few weeks ago I reported on Christian Standard”s annual contributing editors retreat, January 11-13. But I didn”t describe a bittersweet part of our time together. One of our members had just learned about a tragic, sudden death in his church. The auto accident had happened on the other side of the country in the afternoon as we were gathering for our meeting. Our friend skipped dinner to handle phone calls and make plans to return home the next morning. Then he came to our opening session. Once our group had assembled, we asked him to

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