While Charis Fellowship teams are still deploying to the Hurricane Florence impact zone in Hampstead, North Carolina, just last week we met with our partner church in Panama City Beach. And now comes word of our Charis Fellowship church in Chico, California, that has been caught up in the tragic fires there earlier this week.
HAPPENING NOW
Grace Fellowship Team (Pickerington, Ohio) is the ninth Charis Fellowship team deployed to North Carolina.
Crisis Team in NC
Grace Fellowship (Pickerington, OH) has a team of 11 on the ground in Hampstead, NC, this week. Like the more than 30 other Charis Fellowship folks who served there before them, they are rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty for Jesus! Very grateful for all who have prayed and given to send these teams.
Panama City, Florida Teams
At present, we have sent two loads of relief supplies to Panama City. Our hope and prayer is to be send four teams this winter to help our partner church, Calvary Chapel of Panama City Beach, Florida. (See address below if you are interested in serving on or sending a team.)
Paradise, CA, Fire Relief (the Camp Fire)
We are in the early stages of planning a response to the northern California wildfires. Just last night we received word that 10 families in the Charis Fellowship church in Chico, California, lost their homes in wildfires earlier this week. According to Pastor Phil Sparling (80 miles away at Auburn Grace in Auburn, CA), the most recent damage reports for the Camp Fire indicate:
- 80 fatalities (almost 1,000 still unaccounted for)
- 12,000 structures lost (homes and businesses)
- 140,000 acres burned.
As staggering as these numbers are, they do not begin to capture the losses on a human scale.
Our family in Chico is overwhelmed as they are trying to care for their community’s needs during this time – critical needs for prayer and giving. You can help the Chico Church serve the 10 families in the church who lost their homes as well as others in the community by praying & giving:
- PRAY — for these 10 families who lost their homes, for healing and God’s presence as the process their trauma and loss.
- GIFT CARDS for food and other essentials – to major retailers and restaurants (Walmart, Target, Applebees, Jack in the Box, McDonalds). Mail them to:
Chico Fire c/o Auburn Grace
PO 6446
Auburn, CA 95604 - Money donations directly to the Living Hope Fellowship in Chico, CA
- –> Homepage > Donate (at bottom) > Quick Give (on left margin) > choose amount > choose Fire Recovery (drop down field next to dollar amount field)
GO! — There are also opportunities to GO, to send (or join) a team to serve in the impact zones of hurricanes Florence (NC) & Michael (FL). We are scheduling teams now to deploy in 2019 from January through March. Email us (crisisresponse@encompassworld.org) for more information.
