Praying for Joplin

Some very nasty weather hit pretty close to home last night. Joplin, Missouri was devastated by a tornado yesterday evening. I sat watching the footage, thinking it looked like something out of a movie. Surely that level of devastation couldn’t be real. But it is. With the death toll at 89 and counting and countless injuries, it’s very real.

We have friends who have just moved there to pastor a church. They are ok. The tornado passed 7 blocks from their house. Knowing that Brad, Becky, and their boys moved there less than a month ago is chilling. But at the same time, God knew exactly what was going to happen. He put them there for this time, to minister to these families. Our friend Isaac is there as well, having just come back from college to minister at Brad’s church for the summer.

Their church is already set up for Disaster Relief. They are partnering with many people I’m sure, but one of their partners is Thirst No More. It’s a relief organization run by a long-time friend and minister. Craig and his team with Thirst No More were some of the first on the ground with Hurricane Katrina. They know what they’re doing. But while helping with physical needs, they will be able to help with spiritual ones as well. Not everyone is equipped to do that. These guys are, and for that, I am thankful.

There are many people who were joking about the “end of the world” prophecies for this past weekend. I was one of them. No one knows when Jesus is coming back, so that whole thing was ridiculous. This isn’t. Because for at least 89 people, their world ended yesterday. And for many more, their world was turned completely upside down and will never be the same.

What would you do if that happened to you? Would you know where you or your loved ones would spend eternity? It’s something to think about. And it’s something I can talk with you about if you’d like. Just leave a comment with your email.

In the coming days, I know our church will be sending aid to Joplin. It’s one of those times I’d like to go and help, but I can’t. But I can pray. And I can send. So I will.

You can also follow them on Twitter as they help Joplin heal.

@BradleyGraves

@TNMTweets (Thirst No More)

**Edited to Add**

Cross Church has sent teams this week already and will continue to do so. We are also gathering supplies and accepting donations to help with relief. If you are local and you’d like to participate in dropping off supplies or going to Joplin to help, you can check out the supply list or sign up for a day trip on the Cross Church website. You can also donate via the website if you’d like. 100% of donations for Joplin relief will go straight to Joplin – no administrative costs, etc. will be taken out.

You can also follow Cross Church on Twitter to keep up with what we are doing in Joplin.

@CrossChurch