Disaster Preparation
Because you likely won’t see it coming
“Even when you think you’re prepared, a disaster is still a disaster. That’s what J. Clay Thomas and his congregation learned when Hurricane Ike roared through Galveston in September 2008.
Galveston Bible Church (EFCA) and its members had insurance, and they had an evacuation plan, but no one was prepared for the total confusion and emotional paralysis that strikes when everything you own is destroyed by four-plus feet of water.
“You cannot [afford] enough flood insurance to cover you in that kind of disaster,” Clay says.
The good news was that even though 60 percent of his congregation experienced severe flooding, they didn’t lose their lives. And the church restarted services the second week after the storm. True, the folding chairs still leaked water, but it was church.
Their disaster plan also included certificates of deposit with Christian Investors Financial. So the church was able to continue paying its pastor and secretary.
But perhaps the greatest help post-Ike came from an unexpected source.
The day after the storm, a crisis-response team from EFCA TouchGlobal was on site. “They handed cash to our elders,” Clay remembers. “We sure needed it, because we didn’t have any checks; they were wet.”
Once the church and the homes of members were on their way to repair, the crisis-response team turned to the community—leading the way for church members to eventually join in. “While we were getting our stuff together,” Clay says, “they worked on the homes of the poorest of the poor, who didn’t have insurance.
“They stayed for two years and became the outreach arm of our church at a time when we were emotionally and physically unable to even think in that direction. We had the heart to do it, but without the crisis-response team, it would not have happened.
“None of us realized how much of an impact traumatic stress would have on us. So they were lifesavers. Being a part of the EFCA was the only thing that allowed us to have an outreach.”
Disaster can hit anywhere at any time. A little preparation—and a little help from friends—makes all the difference.