If New Testament history repeats itself, the Greater Houston Church is about to have a real growth spurt. Just like the conditions of the early church that we read about in Acts 2, the challenging living circumstances created by Hurricane Ike have caused the members of the Houston Church to band together for survival. In the aftermath of the hurricane, Christians are staying in each others’ homes, sharing food, borrowing each others’ generators and tools and experiencing unusually close fellowship.During my recent visit to Houston, I had the benefit of staying in the home of Jim and Terry Prather and observing their many acts of charity for their friends and neighbors. This is still not an easy time for Houstonians, but the signs of recovery are beginning to emerge. Streets are being cleared, power is slowly being restored and many more retail establishments are re-opening. Not everyone is out of the woods though. I spoke with Tim Huffman, Evangelist for the Houston Church, and his family was experiencing their 12th day without power and had to travel to the homes of friends to access some of the electrically powered things that we have grown to take for granted.
Despite these challenging circumstances, the Houston Church has been a model of service above self. Nearly 100 church members have received special disaster relief training from the American Red Cross and are serving those who are still forced to live in local shelters. This spirit of outward focus is also what we see in the early New Testament church as we find them sharing their faith and are told that God “added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The Houston Church is also sharing their faith in a very practical way by comforting their neighbors in their time of need. This demonstration of God’s love by the members of the Greater Houston Church is bound to have an impact in Houston. A fruitful harvest may be just around the corner.
Please consider the needs of the residents of Houston in your prayers. If you are able, volunteer and donation opportunities are presented at www.hopeww.org.
Visit us at hopeww.org to learn more about all of HOPE worldwide’s programs and see how you can be a part of global change to bring hope to some of the world’s most needy.
