Jesus Our Help

In August of 2017 Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas gulf coast, dropping over fifty inches of rain and bringing record flooding to the Houston metro area.

More than 3,000 homes were flooded in the city of Friendswood, the home of Trinity Fellowship, the EFCA church where my husband, Bob, and I serve. With the church building flooded, and most of the homes of our church leaders under water, we knew we were going to need help. Before the rains even stopped, help was on its way. ReachGlobal Crisis Response, the crisis response arm of the Evangelical Free Church of America, was gathering people and resources. Within days, Crisis Response had set up a work site at our church and the process of rebuilding our church, our homes and our lives began.

Katrina Welch, the site director who oversaw the small army of workers who came to serve, taught us to focus our attention on the people we were helping rather than the endless projects at hand. Homes were damaged, yes, but more importantly, hearts, minds and relationships were damaged because a disaster had come to town.

Gail’s Story

Trauma Care quickly became a big part of the work that I (Gail) was doing with Reach Global Crisis Response – but at first I didn’t know that I was doing trauma care.  Right after the storm, doors were literally wide open as people emptied their houses of flood debris.  It was easy to step in and offer help, and people were eager to share their stories.  We were encouraged to take time to listen even as we worked or, at times, instead of working.  After a crisis people need to tell their stories, and they need someone to listen.  We worked, we listened and we prayed. We were serving the Lord in the mission field that was created by Hurricane Harvey.

Since the early days of Hurricane Harvey my passion for crisis care and specifically trauma care has grown.  After serving alongside Crisis Response through our church ministry, the Lord invited me to combine my skills and experiences with the lessons I was learning about trauma care.  In January of 2021 I joined Reach Global Crisis Response to serve part-time as a Trauma Care Associate. 

These days I am often surprised to find myself among those driving toward a crisis, rather than away.  Donning boots and work clothes, God has proved that opportunities to meet physical needs go hand in hand with opportunities to meet emotional, spiritual and relational needs.  Whether disaster survivors are reeling from the immediate impact of a storm or are dealing with the long-haul slog of paperwork and repairs, they welcome those who will come alongside, listen to their hearts, and share the love of Jesus Christ.  And that is what we are all about – sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those in need.

As a member of the Crisis Response Trauma Care Team one of my roles is to help develop tools and training experiences that equip members of local churches to serve in the mission field that is created by crisis.

Our course, Basic Trauma Care, equips church members with the tools they need to help people process their experiences and walk through tough situations.  Using the Beyond Disaster materials by the American Bible Society, we consider best practices in mental health and enable church and community members to look at their crisis through the lens of Scripture.  Our own materials, Jesus Our Help, Hope and Healing, uses stories from the Bible to help disaster survivors see their connection to God even as they face life’s hardest situations and most difficult questions.  Our goal in all these things is to help local churches build lasting relationships with those impacted by disaster, allowing them to bring help, hope and healing while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Bob’s Story

I (Bob) have seen Crisis Response at work since 2008 (Hurricane Ike). When Hurricane Harvey hit I was enthusiastic about the ministry they could have in our area. As the pastor of a response site, I met with volunteer teams 40 times a year for more than three years, and I said to each of them: “This hurricane has opened doors in our community that we could never have hoped to walk through. But one small church cannot keep walking through those open doors, much as we’d like to. Thank you for coming as an extension of our ministry, being the hands and feet and heart and voice of Jesus to our community.”

It is this vision – sharing the love of Christ by helping those in crisis, that has brought me to the place of working with Crisis Response after my retirement from Trinity Fellowship. I want to help other pastors and churches reach their communities, and I want to support and encourage the volunteers who come to make this possible.

Please join us in prayer for the opportunities to serve Jesus Christ in the mission field that follows crisis. And please let us know how we can be praying for you! E-mail us directly at gsdegray@gmai.com or rjdegray@gmail.com

To partner with us financially, please use this link: Bob and Gail DeGray

Give to the general fund of Reach Global Crisis Response at this link: Reach Global Crisis Response

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