What happens when a monster comes to town? A look at a some of our supporting congregations during Hurricane Michael's
Field Rep Program
This month, the Field Rep update hits a little more personal than most. In this article, I want to tell you of a personal experience that I was able to be a part of in more ways than one.
On October 10, 2018, a beast of a storm hit the Panhandle of Florida with mighty force. Mexico Beach was almost at the center of the crossing of the eye of the hurricane and took a catastrophic hit to the town, the community, the infrastructure, but not to the church. Please allow me to explain…
This area was devastated for more than 90 miles north and probably close to the same east and west. In the direct path of the storm was the meeting place of one of the supporting congregations of TGOC - the church of Christ at the Beaches just outside of Mexico Beach.
I personally know this church family very well, and as a side, personally have a piece of property not very far from there. This is where my family attends when we are in the area usually. They are a smaller congregation - about 30 or so in size, but this story shows how big their love is and continues to be.
Some of the members “rode out” the storm. Some had to be there for work, others because they saw a potential need that when the storm was past that there would be many that were not able to evacuate that needed aid. No matter the reason for them staying, what happened the day of the storm and the days after becomes an amazing outpouring of love and an example of sacrifice for others.
Just hours after this monster passed, members of the church there were out helping others. Some were helping to rescue people from rooftops, while others were trying to reach out to family and members of the church to make sure all were okay and accounted for. Over the course of the next several hours, several people were throwing food out knowing it would spoil due to no electricity and storage. Some of the members decided the next day to take it to the church building and began to offer free meals to anyone that could get there. By Friday evening, most of the food that had been given had been cooked and after speaking with one of the members, I found out that they were willing to continue, yet did not have any more perishable foods.
Over the course of the next several days, word spread and churches from all over the southeast were planning trips to the area to carry supplies and help as they could. There were so many supplies coming in from churches and from even FEMA drop off locations that could not store perishables, and knew they were cooking. A team from Central church of Christ and The Gospel of Christ went to the church on Monday and Tuesday after the hurricane with supplies and manpower to help where we could. On Tuesday, the once a day meals became all day long from sun up until sun down and the church building became a depot for supplies. There were so many that came and helped over the course of the next several days and the community was blessed by the love and actions of not only this congregation, but all of those that supported, sent, went and prayed for their efforts.
As of this writing, exactly one month after the storm made its way to town so to speak, the church family has just now started focusing on their own needs, only discontinuing the daily meals this past weekend, and still doing some periodically as well as handing out supplies. Not only was this happening, but they began to help with clean up efforts around the community and the area, tarping roofs, cutting trees, and cleaning up anything they could help with.
I know I speak for everyone here at The Gospel of Christ in saying that this example of light in a dark world is encouraging. When times got tough, the church was shining brightly in Overstreet, FL!
We just wanted to share this with you so that you and others can continue to keep this church family and several others in the path of destruction in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to recover and rebuild.
Electronic Media Ministry
This month in our electronic Media Ministry, we want to highlight a couple of things for you.
Our apps! We just reached a milestone this week. We reached over 10,000 app opens! For only being months old, this is phenomenal. We hope you keep enjoying the apps, our weekly video and our daily Bible verse.
AmazonSmiles - As the holiday season approaches, more people will be ordering online to get a lot of savings and convenience. Hey, we understand!
Did you know though, that you can help TGOC when you are purchasing through Amazon? That’s right! We are approved to receive a small percentage of your purchase amount through our Non-Profit status. It may not be much, but it certainly adds up! So, please consider instead of shopping through the normal Amazon site, please go to http://smile.amazon.com and choose Gospel of Christ, Inc. as your Non-Profit that you would like to support. If you have any questions about this, please contact our office.
Until next month…may God bless you in your efforts and please continue to pray that we can reach many souls!
~Joey
Field Rep Coordinator/Evangelist
Electronic Media Minister