Foursquare churches and pastors are responding in a big way after Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc in Texas and Louisiana earlier this month.
Over 5,000 meals were served over the weekend at Vision Christian Center, the Foursquare church in Bourg, La., after flood waters from Hurricane Ike forced residents from their homes in the Gulf Coast. Pastor Kim Voisin said the church kitchen in which the meals were prepared was built in part through the generous gifts of Foursquare people across the country who answered the call to help victims following Hurricane Katrina three years ago. A generator and shower facilities installed at the same time have enabled Vision Christian Center to serve as a shelter for many area residents displaced by Ike.
In Texas, Foursquare minister Doug Stringer, who has faithfully served victims of worldwide disasters through his ministry Somebody Cares America, now finds his ministry directly touched by Ike, a Category 2 hurricane that decimated much of the greater Houston area over the weekend. The Houston offices of Somebody Cares America are uninhabitable and the staff now works in makeshift facilities, reaching out to people in South Texas who are in need of food, water and supplies to begin the clean-up process.
According to one report, the direct hit of Ike and/or the resulting floods have affected as many as nine different states. Foursquare Relief teams and supply trucks are loaded and prepared to bring immediate help into the affected areas as soon as funds are available to mobilize them. At the urging of Foursquare leaders an appeal has been issued once again, asking Foursquare people across the country to give toward Foursquare Disaster Relief efforts.
Details on ways to help and ways to give toward U.S. relief are available online.
Financial gifts toward U.S. Foursquare relief efforts should be made payable to The Foursquare Church and have “U.S. Relief” noted on the memo line.
Checks from individuals may be mailed to The Foursquare Church, 1910 W. Sunset Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, Calif. 90026. Churches sending offerings with their regular tithe should designate the appropriate offering amount for “U.S. Relief” on the tithe coupon when the gift is made.
