Reports from PEN Newsletter October 2005
Special Theme: Ministering to Disaster Stricken People
Hope Rises as the Water Recedes
As Gulf state residents recover from Hurricane Rita—and continue
to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—BGEA’s
Rapid Response Team is ministering to those with spiritual and
material needs throughout the region.
Within 48 hours after Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf
Coast, chaplains with our Rapid Response Team were on the ground, praying
with the victims and listening to their anguished stories. To date, more
than 140 trained chaplains have arrived and are working with local churches,
governments, shelters, and police, offering encouragement and counsel
to many officials, pastors, and police officers who themselves have been
serving, often with little rest, in hard-hit areas.
Perhaps the greatest impact of the Rapid Response Team has been among
those on the front lines of duty. These “first responders” include
law enforcement, firefighters, medical emergency personnel, city officials,
and the military, many of whom are now in their fifth week of near-constant
emergency and who have lost homes and loved ones themselves.
In addition, BGEA has established a toll-free “Care-Line” for
these “first responders.” As chaplains minister in the devastated
areas, they are able to point people to the “Care-Line” for
on-going counsel and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To read
more about the Rapid Response Team and for more info, go to this link.
(Courtesy: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
Witnessing to Disaster Stricken - Keith Cook
With all the news about storms and disasters looming over parts of our
nation and world I thought it would be good to look at how to minister
in times like these. Servants of Jesus Christ must be able to go to where
the people are and they must be prepared to help people who find themselves
in many unique and often difficult situations.
So far, On The Go has sent four teams of supplies into the Gulf Coast
Region. Our next GoCare Project scheduled for September 30-October 7,
2005. Our dream is to minister to physical and spiritual needs of those
who have been devastated by the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
As you seek to be led by the Spirit you will find yourself needing to
arrive prepared to minister and comfort real people with real problems.
Keith has developed an evangelistic tool entitled: “Witnessing to
Disaster Stricken”. The following information is an excerpt from
the article. To view the entire article, please go to our website at www.onthego.org.
The article in it’s entirety includes useful websites and tools which
you can utilize as you prepare to minister in disaster stricken areas.
Here are some simple suggestions for ministering to hurting people.
1. Be Alert
- Pay attention to outward signs of neglect, abuse, need, or problems.
Long before the physical storms have come many emotional and physical
storms have already hit.
2. Don’t Play God – Don’t
run ahead of God, or try to fix all their problems in the flesh. Hear
from God and follow His direction. Guard your heart and emotions.
3. Focus On First Things First - Focus
on one physical need and one spiritual need at a time. People with enormous
needs can be overwhelmed with too many options at one time.
4. Get Real Help - Don’t get in over
your head. It is not a sin to use professionals and agencies that will
provide total ministry.
5. Do not judge them or on the other hand
condone any of their past actions or problems. You just speak a word about
Jesus or meet a need.
6. Make Sure You Minister – If God
has placed you in this situation you are there to minister to them. Be
bold and sensitive at the same time.
7. Be Realistic - Expect difficulties,
expect abuse, confrontations, questions, misjudging your motives, and
for them to even be suspicious.
8. Be Spiritually Prepared - Know what
you believe and what the Bible has to say about; sin, love, forgiveness,
tragedy, addictions, hope, recovery reconciliation, and the consequences
of sin and not getting right with God.
9. Be Smart - If you are sharing as a member
of a church group or outreach team remember to stay close to your group.
In any kind of helping hand or spiritual counseling situation do not get
in a situation where you are alone with strangers or are in a dangerous
situation
10. It’s A God Thing - Expect God
to show up and do a work in the person’s life. God will and can work
through you to help them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Why not go today and seek the Lord and ask for permission and direction
to help those who are suffering right now. If you do not know where to
look to offer your assistance begin with your local pastor. You also can
contact other Christian ministries who do these kinds of ministries. Our
ministry has a whole department called, GoCare, that offers help and hope
in Jesus name. Every outreach project we do has a GoCare worker on it
to make sure we take the cup of cold water with us as we take the bread
of life.
May God bless you as you go into all the world for Jesus. If you are
hurting right now and are in need please seek out help using some of the
resources listed on our webpage at www.onthego.org.
For more information on past and future events of On The Go Ministries,
please email info@onthego.org. For information on how to be an active
part in our GoCare Division, please email gocare@onthego.org or gocaregulfcoast.org
. To view the entire archived file of “How To Minister To Disaster
Stricken,” visit www.onthego.org.
(Courtesy: Keith Cook, Keith Cook Evangelistic Association, On the Go
Ministries)
The Valley Responds – Steve Wingfield
Steve Wingfield was instrumental in calling together our community leaders
to get our combined and coordinated initiative started. From a meeting
on September 6th and a visit to Mississippi on September 13th, the burgeoning
"The Valley Responds" effort has grown significantly. The following
information has been taken from an excerpt at the following web address.
For a complete article, please go to http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05090090.htm
.
We also contacted most of our former encounter crusade General Chairpersons
to invite them to do something similar in their respective communities.
Most were already engaged in their own activities but our most recent
event location of Watertown, New York has chosen to embrace our Long Beach,
Mississippi focus.
“The residents of Long Beach are resilient people but they need
our help,” said Wingfield. He added that “while the task is
daunting, it can be done. “It’s a lot of work, but we’re
going to do it the same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”
After visiting the area Wingfield said “We’ve just gotten back
from the new Gulf War.” The city and its people have really been
hit hard, they’re under attack and they will need all the help they
can get.”
In this special Shenandoah Valley-to-Long Beach connection, the two communities
(Harrisonburg, VA and Long Beach, MS) both called “The Friendly City”,
will complement, and not compete with other efforts that are being led
by many churches and national organizations such as the Salvation Army
and the Red Cross. In efforts to coordinate how to move forward to implement
the most effective response, communications have been ongoing since the
storm hit, with Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Rapid Response
Team who have been working on The Gulf Coast with disaster relief, and
members of “The Valley Responds”.
For more information on Steve Wingfield and the Shenandoah Valley response
efforts, please go to the following website http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05090090.htm
. For more information on past and future events of the Steve Wingfield
Evangelistic Association, access our website at www.stevewingfield.org
call at 1-800-729-2239.
(Courtesy: Greg Culbertson, Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association)
Lessons We Can Learn from Katrina and Rita by Wesley D. Paul
I first heard some of these insights in a recent address by Max Lucado.
I appreciate his insight and timely words. I have added, subtracted from
some of the original thoughts as God has guided me.
Firstly, Katrina teaches me that disaster doesn't
discriminate, it strikes everyone. Katrina is a greater leveler.
Why? Why does God let it happen? Because we still live in a fallen world.
This is not a perfect world. Sin has not only corrupted the human race,
but it also has affected all of creation. Therefore, all of creation groans
for redemption (Romans 8:21-22). As long as we live in this fallen world,
we will face disasters, disease and decadence. We will all face the storms
of life one day or another. How can we make it through the storms? Our
security is not in the leaves. Don't put your hope in the leaves. You
and I need a Savior.
Secondly, life doesn't consist in the abundance
of our possessions. This truth was amplified by the loss of homes,
automobiles and other precious possessions. The victims of Katrina didn't
rejoice over finding or saving their material possessions. Instead, they
rejoiced over the members of family and loved ones that were found or
reunited. The search and rescue efforts focused on people. People matter.
So what are you living for? What is your life made up of? Is your life
the sum total of your goods? Some people live to work, work to shop, and
shop till they drop. In the final analysis, what will matter? People.
Invest in people and take them into your heart, into your home and love
them. Seek and save people. The crowd that Jesus addressed in Luke 12th
chapter didn't get it. He told them a story of a rich farmer whose life
consisted in how much he possessed (Read Luke 12:16 ff.). He kept building
bigger barns to store his possessions. It was an effort in futility. What
are you spending your money and resources on? Are you building God's Kingdom
or your kingdom?
Thirdly, We learn a lot about people. Some
rose to the occasion with kindness and compassion, while others pillaged,
looted and raped. The editor of to the source states correctly when he
writes, "In the first hours of Katrina's fury, families and local
churches snapped to action. America's most robust first responders remain
its families and its churches. Thousands of local parishes donated hundreds
of millions of dollars and countless hours of volunteer time as they reached
out to others in need. This response of strength and love masked the flatfooted
bickering of politicians and exposed the vulnerability of our over-secularized
culture."
We also see the dark side of people in the midst of this tragedy. While
some raped, looted and pillaged, others abandoned their responsibility.
More than 40 were found dead in a nursing home because its owners failed
to care and act with concern. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that the
heart is deceitful above all things. In light of our human condition,
we need a Savior. We need someone to save us from our sinful and base
nature.
Fourthly, somebody has to clean up the mess.
It is a disaster zone: water, land, homes, streets, everything is a mess.
A massive clean up effort is underway. If people are going to inhabit
the land again, the mess has to be cleaned up and the city must be put
back to order. Katrina's mess can be cleaned up with human hands. What
about the mess that Sin has brought into our lives? Who will clean that
up? Sin entered the universe and has turned our lives upside down. Some
have been living in a disaster zone, everything is a mess in their life.
The mess has to be cleaned up. Who will clean up our mess? Jesus. Yes,
he will, if we let him into our lives. It doesn't matter how messy things
have gotten. He will rescue us, clean us up, and help us live again.
With Jesus, there is no bureaucracy to deal with. Yes, FEMA might fail
you, even churches may fail you, but not Jesus. Our security system is
not in the leaves, it is in Jesus! He is our Savior, our Healer and Redeemer.
Why don't you point people to this Jesus?
(Courtesy: Wesley D. Paul, Wesley Paul International Ministries, email
Wesley )
FUTURE PEN ARTICLES
We will be correlating the data for the next PEN Newsletter. In order
for events and articles to be included in the upcoming PEN Newsletter,
we have set Wednesday, December 14th at
12:00 noon central time as the deadline. We will try to run as many articles
as possible, but we can not guarantee that your article will be included
in the upcoming PEN Newsletter as there are over 300 ministries participating
in the PEN Network. In order for your ministry event to be included in
the next PEN Newsletter, we will need to receive the following from you
by the deadline.
1) Subject or Title Heading
2) Brief Description of Event, Article, or Training Opportunity
3) WebLink to an article or webpage describing full detail of ministry
event, article, or training opportunity
Below you will find a list of qualifications for data that will be included
in the PEN Newsletter.
1) The PEN Newsletter will not include any information regarding Fund
Raising for your ministry. This is not the role of this newsletter.
2) We will attempt to include brief articles from as many ministries
as possible. Articles must be Evangelistic in nature. Most Evangelistic
Projects, Training Opportunities, and Conferences will be listed in our
upcoming events section of each newsletter.
3) All other information will be included only upon a space availability
basis. We will rank importance according to PEN guidelines.
4) All correspondence must be done through emails. Please try not to
call our office or fax your articles to us, as it will be more time consuming
to retype information in for each of the newsletters.
5) The PEN Network and On The Go Ministries / Keith Cook Evangelistic
Association are not responsible for mistakes or miscommunications.
6) All articles received must have Subject/Title line, Brief Description
of Article, Information, Evangelistic Event, or Training Opportunity,
and Weblink to your ministry event or webpage that contains actual information
you want communicated. Full articles that will be included in the PEN
Newsletter will only be that of official PEN related articles.
We look forward to working with you so that others may know how they
can be more actively involved in your ministry. Again, please remember
that we can not promise to enter an article on every ministry that submits
information, but we will make an attempt to include as much information
as we possibly can, yet keep the newsletter concise and informative as
well. In order to list an Upcoming Evangelistic Article, Project, or Training
Opportunity, please send your articles with your Subject or Title line,
Brief Description, and Weblink to the following address: Laurie@onthego.org.
While On The Go Ministries / Keith Cook Evangelistic Association serve
as editors and producers of this electronic newsletter and materials,
the PEN Network maintains all rights and responsibilities for the PEN
Newsletter.
PEN Newsletter Editor - Keith Cook, keithcook@onthego.org
PEN Newsletter Assistant Editor - Laurie Wilkerson, laurie@onthego.org
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