It became a spiritual exercise—it was not just about saving homes—it was about letting people see the love of Christ in our actions.
music and worship, convened on Monday morning, rescue operations were already going on around the city. Located on Briley Parkway across the highway from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, the church was spared, suffering only minor rain damage. Unfortunately, surrounding businesses and neighborhoods were not. Less than a mile away, the Pennington Bend subdivision was nearly completely under water. Opryland, the well- known resort that includes the famous Grand Ole Opry House, was under 10 feet of water.
As Nashville Police S.W.A.T. teams used boats to rescue families from their fl ooded homes, the entire Two Rivers ministerial staff began calling and mobilizing leadership to respond to the disaster surrounding them. By Wednesday evening, May 4, Two Rivers sent out scores of church members into the Heartland and Pen- nington Bend areas to check
tan’s Purse, Two Rivers Church began serving as a major coordination and facilitating command post for hundreds of volunteers, many who traveled from across the nation.
Before the Crisis D
isasters don’t usually give advance notice. Help your church be ready for a crisis by implementing these three important suggestions.
1. Create a Crisis Assessment Team that will meet in urgent situations to give leadership to the church for disaster response. Keep in mind team member strengths when making assignments. 2. Maintain a list of emergency contacts, in- cluding the Red Cross, The Salvation Army and government agencies and contacts like FEMA and local elected offi cials. 3. Create a basic communications strategy that is fl exible and easily implemented during a time of crisis.
on members and their neighbors, survey the damage, assess needs to determine how they could help, and to pray with victims and urge them to call on Two Rivers for any needs they might have. The church then began recruiting and deploying volunteers who could go out and start the process of repairing fl ooded homes—beginning with cleaning out mud, ripping out carpet, and replacing wet dry- wall. With the arrival of the Red Cross and Samari-
Church members along with community volun- teers continued reaching out into the neighborhoods sur- rounding the church as well as collecting specifi c dona- tions needed in fl ood relief. By the time the weekend rolled around, Two Rivers had organized “Servolution 2.”
With even more church members than had gathered the previous week, Two Rivers and other volunteers fanned out across the devastated areas surrounding the church. “There was a sense of community like I’ve never seen,” shares Melissa. “It became a spiritual exercise— it was not just about saving homes—it was about letting people see the love of Christ in our actions. It was about meeting needs with love,
compassion and respect.”
Even in a state known for it’s volunteerism, such love and compassion was not completely expected,” says Melissa. “We’d tell people we were coming back and then, when we showed up again, it would be such a shock to them.” Melissa admits the fi rst couple of days were just chaos. “I remember hearing about Katrina down in New Orleans, but can’t say I ever thought much
24 Fall 2010 •
onmission.com
© SAMUEL M. SIMPKINS/THE TENNESSEAN/ZUMAPRESS.COM
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