Prepare! One Simple Tip to Help Your Church

Sometimes we don't think about disasters until they strike home. If I could share just one simple tip for you to prepare for disaster it would be this. Share phone numbers and set up a phone tree to see that everyone in your church is checked in with after a disaster strikes.

How you do this is not as important as that you make sure that everyone is on someone's list. You don't want to learn after a disaster strikes that nobody checked on one of the widows or elderly members of your church.

One way to do this is to assign people in the church a manageable list of people to check in with. How many names are manageable depends on the size of your church and how many people you have who can volunteer to make calls. Just make sure you have current phone numbers and that the people who are supposed to call have access to telephone service. Sometimes land lines go down but cellular towers are still intact. Sometimes both are out of service.

Just for the sake of giving you an example, here is what a small church might do:

• The pastor calls the elders and deacons and makes sure that they all have telephone access.
• Elders and deacons each have a list of names to call. If a family/person cannot be contacted by phone, you might consider sending someone to their house to check on them. 

While we did not have this system in place when tornadoes ripped through our community in April 2011, within an hour of the first tornadoes hitting we had church members in our driveway checking on us. Phones and electricity were out and I was cutting trees that fell and blocked our street (a dead end) so I didn't hear my cell phone ringing. Having those church members care enough to check on us meant a great deal. I encourage you to develop a plan that would help to make sure that all of your church members are okay.

And don't forget to check on your neighbors too! In a later post I will share how a natural disaster can help you to connect with, and minister to, your neighbors.

Thanks to the Tennessee Valley Presbytery MNA Committee

Thanks to the Tennessee Valley Presbytery MNA Committee for allowing me to speak to the assembly last Saturday about my new role with MNA. I enjoyed visiting Highlands Presbyterian Church in LaFayette, GA and hearing Rev. Tom May open the word.

I am looking forward to visiting the Northwest Georgia Presbytery on January 30.

Free Subscription to the PCA Magazine, byFaith

Did you know that the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has a magazine? Did you also know that you could subscribe for free on their website? They do accept donations, but subscriptions are available at no charge.


The byFaith website has an excellent archive of articles, so be sure to check it out also.

Home Heating Safety

As colder weather kicks in, please remember to exercise safe practices with space heaters, fireplaces, or wood stoves. FEMA recommends that you keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating sources.

Disaster Response Article in byFaith Magazine

Mission to North America Disaster Response was recently featured in byFaith Magazine. To view the article, which discusses the MNA response in South Carolina flooding, click here.

Check Out the MNA Website

Be sure to check out the Mission to North America website for information about our parent organization. MNA coordinates church planting and outreach ministries to serve PCA churches and presbyteries in North America in their mission to grow and multiply biblically healthy churches.

MNA ministries include:

• church planting
• chaplain ministries
• disaster response
• ESL ministries
• prison ministries
• second career ministries
• short-term missions
• and more

Please visit the website and learn about all that the ministries that MNA oversees. 

TAG Region Bookmarks Available...But There's a Catch!

I don't know about you, but I love a good bookmark. I have several in my bible right now, from one that my mom tucked inside a birthday card many years ago to one that a children's Sunday school class made for me almost that long ago. My favorite is one that my youngest son gave to me on my birthday in 2008 when he was 12. It was clearly used at the time--a little rough around the edges--which to me indicated that he had given me something that he was using. This was not a gift from a store shelf, but a gift from the heart. And I am still enjoying his gift seven years later. You see, a good bookmark can come in handy and serve you for many years.

That is why we had bookmarks printed to distribute when we visit churches for training or to meet with church officers or missions committees asking the church to support this work. I wanted something that people would keep in their bible and use on a daily basis--something that would remind people of the ministry and my need for prayer.

Our bookmarks (shown here on the right) remind you of four actions you can take to support God's work through this ministry:

Pray - We ask that you pray that God would be glorified and that people would be drawn to Christ through this ministry. As always, I am happy for you to pray for me specifically and all the details that come with serving through a ministry. But then end goal is that people would come to Christ and that God would be glorified.

Serve - There are many ways in which  you can serve through this ministry. And there is something for everyone. You could:

• assemble flood buckets
• sponsor a fund raiser or special offering to raise funds for this ministry
• go on a relief trip
• help organize a training session at your church

If you don't know how you might serve, I encourage you to contact me and I'll be happy to share suggestions. I plan to include a list on the website soon, but don't hesitate to contact me. 

Prepare - A significant part of my job is training and coaching churches in starting a disaster response ministry. Consider hosting a workshop on one of the topics listed on our "Prepare" page. I am excited to get out into the region to meet those who are already doing or wish to start doing disaster response. I enjoy teaching and I love to teach about that which I am passionate. Everyone should have a disaster plan for their family, so allow me to share some simple steps you can take to establish such a plan.

Give - This ministry will operate through the financial support of those who value what we do. Please consider a one-time or regularly occurring gift to support this work. No gift is too small to impact the kingdom, as I will mention in another post in a few days. Please consider joining us as we undertake this work together.

So about the bookmarks...Here's the catch!

The preferred way to distribute these is in person when I visit your church to provide a training workshop or to talk to your church about the ministry. I would love an invitation to do just that. Family night supper, Wednesday Night Bible Study, Men's Breakfast, Women's Gathering, Vacation Bible School, Mission Conference, the list goes on...Just invite me!

But if none of this works but you want a bookmark anyway... Send me an email with your postal mailing address and I'll send you a few. No catch. No obligation. No salesman will call.

In all seriousness and above all, please pray that God would be glorified in this ministry and that people would come to know Christ as we share the story of His grace and mercy.