As I’ve watched the news feeds over the last several days, I noted that the A/G has been quick to respond, first with nearly a dozen Convoy of Hope trucks being sent down (over twenty more on the way), and an email plea from the General Superintendent, Thomas Trask, to contribute funds at the A/G disaster recovery site. Already $25,000 was sent to the Louisiana district to help some 400 people stranded at the LA district campgrounds.

Here is a good update on what is known and not known about the state of our churches and district offices in the Gulf region: Hurricane Katrina—much still unknown.

At this point, giving money is more effective than sending things. Let the organizations with the infrastructure in place to provide help turn your dollars into tangible aid. Currently, the hardest hit areas are still evacuating survivors and I’m reading that well-intentioned helping hands are being turned away. Later, after people are let back in to assess damage, that’s when the sweat and toil of rebuilding will begin. At that point, you should contact the Louisiana District office (see below) to offer assistance and get coordinated.

To contribute financially, here is where you should go:

• Assemblies of God Benevolences/Disaster Relief
  1445 N. Boonville Ave.
  Springfield, MO 65802-1894

  Use account number: 874-001-030007

  Or make donations online at: http://benevolences.ag.org/disasterrelief/

• Convoy of Hope
  You can use PayPal, or make a secure online donation directly at http://convoyofhope.org/
  Or call (417) 823-8998
• Louisiana District Council of the Assemblies of God
  P.O. Box 7388
  Alexandria LA 71306-7388

  Phone: (318) 445-6238; Fax: (318) 473-9344

  Or make secure online donations at: http://www.laaog.org/Hurricane/hurricane.htm

Nobody’s really sure what churches in Louisiana were hit and which still stand at this point. But I’d expect to see a list of impacted churches and ministries in the days to come so that churches in the greater US can “adopt a church” to help out with financial and hands-on assistance. If the A/G or Louisiana district websites don’t do this, perhaps somebody else will make that kind of matching program work. If I can get my hands on such a list, I’ll post it here.

[tags]BlogRodent, hurricane-katrina, katrina, benevolence, donations, assembly-of-god, assemblies-of-god, relief-effort[/tags]

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Rich Tatum