Thank You for Being the Church

Over the last week, a number of people have reached out and asked what they can do to help out here. Thank you for the calls and emails. It is truly an encouragement to watch the body of Christ across an entire nation as it speaks with one voice concerning tragedy. The common refrain of mercy and service punctuate call after call. That is what the gospel does to a group of people.

In the coming days and weeks, we will begin seeing a coordinated effort at disaster recovery here in Southeast Texas. It will be an undertaking of national scope for the church. It will stretch out across denominations and across states. My newsfeed is filled with photos of trucks loading up with disaster relief supplies, of teams packing their bags for a stay in Houston.

Those iconic yellow and blue trailers that Southern Baptists drive into disaster are on their way. Indeed, many have already landed. Hundreds of thousands of meals have already been served. Teams are on the ground tearing out houses and trying to help people put their lives back together, and this will continue for months to come. The folk in my office are hard at work securing beds and showers for hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. These volunteer teams will be a necessity to recovery as we continue ahead. You will be an answer to prayer.

I am not the first to say it in the past week, but moments like these are the ones that show the importance of national cooperative efforts. As our local churches begin to experience fatigue from serving hard in the immediacy of crisis, we are supported by the efforts of other brothers and sisters who make the sacrifice to join us in our labor. Our resources that we gladly give year after year to cooperative efforts are mobilized in moments just like this one to do more than any of us could do by ourselves.

Thank you for your prayer. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your cooperation.