Rapid Response Team Update and Opportunity To Serve
Your prayers and ministry to extend God's love through the Billy
Graham Rapid Response Team has brought hope to thousands of people
suffering from the 2005 hurricane season.
Since the initial date of deployment on August 30, 2005, God
has been
faithful to provide the resources to support the year ending statistics
listed below.
Chaplain Deployments 901
People Prayed For 29,115
Commitments to Jesus Christ 1,218
Cities Deployed To 16
States Deployed To 8
In Matthew 9:36-38 (NKJV), we read, "But when He saw the
multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they
were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then
He said to the disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers
are few.
Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in
to His harvest."
As we look ahead, we know disasters, trauma, suffering and storms
of life are coming. We're told we can expect another year of damaging
hurricanes. What about the tornadoes, earthquakes, or the report
of a possible Pandemic Influenza, or even man-made disasters.
So what should the Church to be prepared to share God's love and
hope in such a crisis, or maybe a better question is..."Lord
what would you have me do?"
Please pray about the following opportunities!
1. Serve as a Volunteer Chaplain with the Billy Graham RapidResponse
Team in the Gulf Coast Region. The BGEA Rapid Response Team
needs volunteer chaplains to serve in these capacities:
oLevel One Chaplain - An experienced FBI, police, fire,
or military
chaplain
oLevel Two Chaplain - A Christian counselor, hospice worker,
pastor, or ministry leader trained in crisis intervention or chaplaincy
training
oLevel Three Chaplain - A ministry leader with a heart
and compassion for people
How to Get Involved: Visit www.billygraham.org
for more information and an application. Fill out the Volunteer
Chaplain Application online now or download the Volunteer Chaplain
Application, fill it out completely, and fax it to 1-828-298-9035.
2. Attend the 2006 "His Presence in Crisis" Conference
at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, NC. Featured
speakers include Franklin Graham, Pastor Skip Heitzig and Dr.
Jonathan Olford. The conference will also offer two tracks of
workshops: "Ministry Training in Times of Crisis," and
"How to Start a Chaplain Ministry in Your Church". Visit
www.billygraham.org
for registration information. Space will be limited, so
register soon!
(Courtesy: Jack W. Munday, Managing Director of Strategic Ventures
in Evangelism Training, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,
JMunday@thebgtc.org.)
The Valley Responds
In the last PEN newsletter, Steve Wingfield's involvement with
The Valley Responds was highlighted. The local (Harrisonburg -
Rockingham County, Virginia) organization continues to assist
the adopted community of Long Beach, Mississippi to recover from
the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Under Steve's leadership,
the relief effort has received and donated almost $150,000 in
cash contributions in addition to other items such as vehicles,
kitchen and homemaking essentials, food, and much more. The SWEA
tent has been set up in Long Beach since September 2005 serving
as a gymnasium, mess hall, and more as needed. Information about
The Valley Responds is available at www.thevalleyresponds.com.
(Courtesy: Greg Culbertson, Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association,
www.stevewingfield.org)
The Ghost of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina is now back page news for the rest of the country,
but it is still headlines for those who live up and down the coast.
Since the worst hurricane to hit the United States ripped into
the southern coast on August 31, the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association has been serving the victims through two distinct
agencies, the Rapid Response Team and Samaritan's Purse.
I have had the privilege to serve as one of five Chaplain Coordinators
for the Rapid Response Team. Every person touched has his or her
unique story. One man rescued 164 of his fellow citizens in Chalmette
and wept because he could not save more. A policeman pulled over
400 students to safety when a school flooded. A older couple who
lost two homes and a business simply stated, "God has a way
of making us all equal in times like this." Into this bewildered,
broken, battered, but not beaten sea of humanity the chaplains
of the Rapid Response Team have ministered in the name of Jesus.
This has truly been the Great Commission in action.
Katrina, the storm, has dispersed to the four corners of the
earth, but her ghost still haunts those trying to put their lives
back together. Only the hope which Jesus offers will bring peace
and hope those left behind.
Visit www.billygraham.org
for more information and an application. Give a week of your
life. It may be the greatest evangelistic event of your ministry.
(Courtesy: Jerry Drace, Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association.
Email jdeainc@juno.com)
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, March 15 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 all 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 McTier, laurie@onthego.org
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