HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF

Church Family -

As many of you know, we are a part of the Acts 29 Church Planting network. Acts 29 is a diverse, global family of church planting churches. We love being a part of Acts 29 because of their steadfast loyalty to Jesus, His word, and His mission.

In efforts to respond to what is happening in Houston as a result of Hurricane Harvey, Acts 29 has formalized a strategic plan to address the current and ongoing needs in the Houston Area. I know many of you are looking for ways to help and serve as a response to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. I’d like to invite you to please prayerfully consider how you & your family may help in these efforts.

Please watch this video and read below to see how you can support.

- Pastor Al

FACTS & FIGURES
Hurricane Harvey has been the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in 50 years. South Houston has experienced the largest US mainland rainfall due to a single tropical system ever: 49.2 inches (125cm), that is equivalent to the average annual rainfall at Houston Airport.
The impact already has been extreme. So far at least 30,000 people have been made homeless, but the final figure is likely to be much higher. Tens of thousands are without power, increasing daily as the waters rise. The insurance bill is expected to exceed $10bn and direct losses are expected to exceed $20bn. 50% of the cotton harvest for Houston and the surrounding area is lost.
On Monday alone the Texas Coastguard rescued 3,000 people and the police rescued another 1,000. Others are still being rescued from second-story windows; flood waters are continuing to rise as dams are overtopped. Recovery from Hurricane Ike (2008) took at least 6 months. Acts 29 Houston is expecting recovery from Harvey to take 12 months or more.
There are over 20 Acts 29 churches in the local Houston area. Some Acts 29 pastors have been directly impacted, with cars and property lost, and family members having to swim to safety. According to locals, the impact is not exaggerated by the media and the scope of this storm is massive.
HOW CAN WE HELP
1. Pray
Praise God that unity and collaboration amongst churches in Houston and the community have been great. Pray for fellow Acts 29 churches as they have a unique missional opportunity to be the visible church, serving people in need.

2. Give
Donations will be used to provide relief and recovery assistance to individuals, families, and churches impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Finances will be the biggest need as Acts 29 Houston prepares for the recovery effort.
Here are four ways for churches and individuals to give:
US donors can text keyword HARVEYRELIEF to 51555 and follow prompts to give via credit card
Anyone can give online at www.clearcreek.org/harveyrelief
Anyone can mail a check to: Clear Creek Community Church, 999. N. Egret Bay Blvd., League City, TX
If you would like to wire funds please email trichardson@clearcreek.org for instructions
For options 2 and 3, please indicate it’s from an Acts 29 source to help them with tracking.

3. Serve
Houston Church Planting Network (containing many Acts 29 churches) is compiling a list of churches from outside of Houston that may be interested in bringing in a team to serve, donating supplies, etc. as the waters recede.
If you are interested, you can visit http://www.hcpn.org/harveyhelp to provide your information. The recovery effort will be going on for months, so please be patient as they get coordinated for long-term efforts. This will be a marathon and not a sprint. Rescue and relief are happening now but recovery will go on for months and they envision needing much outside support.