Stories of Response

South Texas

"God has been so good and the people who have made this past two weeks rewarding will no doubt change me as a pastor, a leader and a child of God forever! We all face moments in our live in which we hope God will use us, but more than, that I want God to be seen in what we are doing!

I have seen the church mobile and in action. I have seen a number of people who have proclaimed Him as Lord, do nothing. I know that God will bless those people who have risked for him. I cannot express my gratitude to those who have been a blessing with funds and with words of encouragement. You have not gone un-noticed, God sees and hears.

We are currently housing refugees from the Hurricane. We have a Spanish congregation that fled the storm together as a church. Imagine the site as we worshipped together with a State Guardsman translating into Spanish. I can only say it was the BEST service we have ever had! Sunday night the Spanish pastor and congregation provided the service with translation into ENGLISH! WOW!

Continue to pray for us as we help them relocate and begin again or wait it out till something happens. We have been able to send a family of ten to Georgia, and get people on their way to other parts of the country to family.

-Pastor Steve Vaughn, Orange, TX

We have been partnering with New Hope Baptist Church to serve hot meals and provide Crisis Care Kits to those in hotels and shelters. The first night we served about 125 people. This past Wednesday night our congregation served Gumbo with red beans and rice to between 50-75 people. Our congregation will be responsible for serving the Wednesday evening meal for the next 6 weeks.

Our church took up a special offering this past Sunday and will do that for another couple of weeks. We have adopted the small congregation from New Way of Life Church, in New Orleans, lead by pastor Herman Evans. There are 22 of them all together. We have given them gas cards, clothing cards, and paid their hotel bills for a night. We are working with them now to find homes or apartments to rent. We helped Pastor Evans get a job working for TISD as a bus driver, and are working with the others to find jobs as well. We have also invited them to worship in our facility. They are a wonderful congregation and we are growing relationally with them in so many positive ways.

I am so proud of the response of our people. We have organized ourselves in such a way to be able to respond to the need over the long haul. We are having fun serving together to the glory of Jesus Christ.

-Pastor Denny Dillon, New Life Community Church, Pinehurst, TX

We have chosen to focus on local needs as we estimate between 500 and 1,000 refugees are living within 10 minutes of our church. We transformed our sanctuary into a clothing, hygiene product, and houseware closet. We have had around 100 family units come through our doors receiving food and any of the above items along with internet access to connect with FEMA. The Crossing is endeavoring to be Jesus in our corner of this crisis.

-Pastor Steve Coutouzis. The Crossing, Houston, TX

We have approximately 1500 evacuees at the Ford Center in Beaumont. I have spent last night and all day today out there counseling, and setting up a chapel area.

We do not really need any more items as the community has been good to donate.

A lot of prayer is needed, not only for the victims, but also for the workers; as trying times make for short tempers and frustration. We know that the Church is praying!

-Pastor Dennis Knight, Vidor Church of the Nazarene, Vidor, TX"

Additional information on volunteering, past press releases and other pertinent information, as well as videos of General Superintendent trips to survey the response effort can be found at www.ncm.org.

Donations to the ongoing relief effort can be made by MasterCard or Visa at www.ncm.org and checks, made out to “General Treasurer” can be sent to 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. Please mark them “ACM1801 Gulf Coast Hurricanes” in the memo line.

• On-line using VISA or MasterCard
• OR In the US, make checks payable to: General Treasurer
• and mail to:
  General Treasurer
  6401 The Paseo
  Kansas City, MO 64131
• In Canada, make checks payable to: Church of the Nazarene
• and mail to:
  Church of the Nazarene Canada
  20 Regan Road, Unit 9
  Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3

All donations remitted through NCM and the General Treasurers Office will receive 10% Mission Special credit if the local church is identified.

NCM is the liaison between the pressing needs of the world and the individuals that are committed to making a difference. We understand that you may not be able to respond to every need. However, we want to keep you informed of the opportunities for your involvement in projects such as this. Every project deserves your individual consideration.