By Chuck Reber

Have you give serious consideration to how your local church or ministry will fare through a disaster or crisis? Disasters and crisis do not all have the same footprint. For some the disruption is only local, yet other disasters result in disruptions across an entire region.

In West Virginia we experienced a disaster with statewide disruption in July of 2012, when a windstorm called a “derecho” swept across the state, knocking the power out for seventy percent of our state’s residents. It was a devastating storm that crippled our infrastructure and resulted in the closing of businesses, government offices and churches.

The July heat and humidity only compounded the agony produced by our dependence on the power grid. Life as we knew it was changed for two weeks – the time it took to get most of the power lines up and running again. Communication was very limited on our cell phones, and most landlines were down. Trees damaged by the wind lay across houses, driveways, and across roads, blocking travel. Businesses could not open because there was no way to process credit and debit cards, and the ones that did open dealt in cash only.

If you didn’t have gas in your tank before the storm hit, then you were stranded. Gas stations were closed for several days because with no electricity there was no way to pump the gas out of the ground. Even after the power was restored to the pumps the banks were still offline so again, there were only cash transactions. Life slowed down drastically.

The city water and sewer was down due to the collapse of the power line. All the meat and fresh foods at local restaurants and grocery stores spoiled without refrigeration. The same was true for anyone with a freezer full of food. Without a generator (and extra fuel stored for that generator) many families lost everything in their refrigerators and freezers. And to top off the misery index, we had no air conditioning!

From the Storm A Strategy Emerges

It was in the context of this crisis that I had to wrestle with the pastoral concerns of our church. Not only did I have to deal with the storm damage at my own house, as a pastor, I was concerned about the needs of spiritual family as well.

Everyone was dealing with shortages of supplies, downed utilities, travel hindrances, and lots more work than they had before the storm. From this experience I’ve identified three overarching pastoral issues that helped me focus on getting my people through the crisis and still keep a God-centered focus.

Three Primary Pastoral Concerns

Here are three questions that leaders need to answer in order to help their church or ministry get through a disaster or crisis:

1. 1.How will we provide pastoral care for our spiritual family during crisis?
   

2. 2.How will we keep our church/ministry operational during the crisis? Or, How will we fulfill our God-given ministry mandate?
   

3. 3.How can we effectively reach out to our local community during the crisis?
   

So here we have – 1) a Pastoral Care concern; 2) a Ministry to the Lord to fulfill; 3) an Outreach ministry opportunity/responsibility to our local community.

Understanding Our Priorities

I listed the pastoral care concern first, because if we don’t see to it that our families are cared for, then they will not participate in their ministry mandate (#2), nor participate in compassionate outreach (#3). Instead, they will focus on meeting their own needs and the needs of their family, which is, after all, the proper biblical order:

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, an especially for the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim 5:8)

This is why we need to emphasize the importance of personal/family preparedness. Those who have made adequate preparations to care for their family will be able to focus on meeting the needs of others since they will already have personal provision set aside. Having basic preparations allows them the choice to use their time to serve at the church/ministry base, or helping their neighbors.

If no preparations are made then usually people’s time is consumed waiting in lines to obtain food, water, and supplies, only to do it again the next day.

What Could Happen in Your Local Area of Ministry?

1. 1.Know what you are preparing for! You can’t prepare for everything. Thoroughly research the most likely crisis that will affect the families in your church/ministry.
   

2. 2.What is the greatest threat to the families in your care? Narrow the focus down to the two or three threats.
   

3. 3.Know your capabilities and your limitations. Take time to assess both the resources available to you and the liabilities working against you (personally and locally). Spell these out clearly. They will factor into your preparedness plan.
   

4. 4.Focus on meeting your families’ needs during the most likely disaster or crisis.
   

Most Common Effects of a Disaster/ Crisis on a Community

1. •Significant damage to buildings and infrastructure. Sometimes casualties and deaths have occurred.
   

2. •Communication may be disrupted as power, phone, and cable lines are damaged. Cell phone service may collapse due to being overwhelmed with calls. Sometimes texting is still available.
   

3. •Law enforcement is stretched beyond its capacity to answer calls for assistance.
   

4. •Hospitals and medical resources are stressed to their limits and often overwhelmed. With the grid down pharmacies will not be able to fill prescriptions.
   

5. •Roads and bridges are blocked or closed and alternate routes of travel must be found. Travel may be restricted to some areas altogether.
   

6. •Some areas may be evacuated due to damage or safety and security concerns.
   

7. •Schools, daycares, and workplaces may be closed.
   

8. •Grocery stores and building supply stores are quickly stripped of all inventory within hours before or after the crisis.
   

9. •Disaster response from the government takes several days to mobilize. The longer the delay in the deployment of help and resources, the faster the discontent grows among the people affected.
   

10. •Fear and panic set in as the people monitor the media coverage. Looters may take advantage of the low security situation, increasing concerns for safety and security.
    

Establish A Baseline of Preparedness

Crisis scenarios will differ in type, severity, intensity, and duration. Those aspects are out of our control. However, a well-crafted biblical response to crisis is within our control.

In order to carry out these three pastoral concerns, we need to establish some baselines of preparedness. We need to determine which resources and skill sets are:
   1) essential to sustainability
   2) necessary for survival
   3) which are optional.

Let’s break down the three primary pastoral concerns by outlining the essential components under each one that are necessary to make them happen.

I’m going to present some suggestions in an outline form. This is simply meant to stimulate your own ideas. What follows is my “white boarding” of the concerns and possible solutions.

Concern #1 – How will we provide pastoral care for our spiritual family in times of crisis?

A.     What are the essential components to effective pastoral care in crisis?

1. 1.Communication
   

2. 2.Leadership/Oversight
   

3. 3.Transportation
   

4. 4.Provisions
   

B.     What is necessary to get these in place and functioning?

1. 1.Every household must have a two-way radio and training. Then we establish communication hubs between Pastoral Care Leader and households.
   

2. 2.Appoint and train pastoral care leaders for geographical areas
   

3. •Communications training, reading maps and GPS
   

4. •Pastoral care training
   

5. •First Aid
   

3. 3.Compile contact information and maps to each household
   

4. 4.Teach individuals and families basic essentials of preparedness
   

5. •Every family needs a Get Home Plan, an Evacuation Plan, and a Shelter in Place (or Hunker Down) Plan
   

5. 5.Each household has a minimum of 14 days of provisions on hand
   

6. •Concern: Many households do not have the finances to cover the cost of this preparedness baseline.
   

7. •Solution 1: Help them establish a supply list and a weekly preparedness budget. Make purchases accordingly.
   

8. •Solution 2: Raise-up a Nehemiah 13 ministry to stock provisions in a “storehouse” to help those in need so they can minister.
   

9. •These “storehouses” should be spread throughout your area and be located near the neighborhoods where your members live. Pastoral care leaders will provide wise stewardship and oversee the distribution of the goods to those in need.
   

6. 6.A portion of the resources in each “storehouse” should be set aside for compassionate outreach to neighbors.
   

Concern #2 – How will our ministry stay operational during the crisis?

A.     What are the essential components necessary for fulfilling our ministry?

1. •A Place to meet. Is our facility operational?
   

2. •Is there electric power available to operate facility and equipment? Are other utilities operational?
   

3. •Communicate the gathering times through pastoral care network
   

4. •Are the roads clear? Are there curfews in place? How does that affect our schedule and the needs of the ministry teams?
   

5. •Provide safety and security for those attending
   

B.     What is necessary to get these in place and functioning?

1. •Communications base on site
   

2. •Backup generator and extra fuel
   

3. •Trained Security force
   

Concern #3 – How will we reach out with compassion to our local community?

A.     What are the essential components necessary for fulfilling our ministry to our
           neighbors?

1. •Pastoral care leaders communicate with member households and determine the needs of the neighborhood.
   

2. •Transportation to get to the area storehouse to get supplies
   

B.     What is necessary to get these in place and functioning?

1. •Get to know your neighbors. Help them to get prepared.
   

2. •Secure your provisions and make a plan.
   

3. •Establish a distribution point for multi-family food handouts
   

4. •Note: For security reasons, all charity distributions should be conducted from a neutral location rather than from an individual’s home.
   

Final Thoughts

Pastors and ministry leaders, I encourage you to take these three questions and some of the ideas I’ve outlined to your leadership team. Review them together and then seek the counsel of the Lord for wisdom and understanding. He is the Great Shepherd who loves His sheep and He will give give you insights from His heart for caring for your people in crisis.

Once you get a plan established, review it and analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and the threats and opportunities that may arise. Rework it, then start implementing your plan. God bless.

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