As congregations gather tonight I know that you will have a lot of questions about how to respond to the disastrous flooding that has taken place in South and Southeast Texas. I have spoken today with Association leaders in the affected areas, as well as Emergency Managers at the evacuation shelters in the Metroplex. All of these people are working with City Managers, County Judges, and church leaders. Let me pass on to you the information that I have learned.

Corpus Christi area

Local leaders are currently evaluating the needs and developing recovery plans. Their primary concern is that attention and resources will quickly be diverted to the Houston area, and South Texas will be forgotten.

Soon, they will welcome volunteer teams to assist with cleanup/mud-out of homes. They will need both people and supplies. At the moment, the Corpus Christi Baptist Association is collecting funds to purchase mud-out supplies and water to support this effort. You can donate to the CCBA here, or send your donation to the address on their website.

They will be prepared to begin accepting volunteer teams after Labor Day. You can contact the Association to make arrangements for a volunteer team, but they have asked that you wait until next week.

Houston/Galveston area

Although the rain has stopped, there is still a lot of high water and many roads are still closed. Leaders there have specifically requested that volunteer teams wait until after Labor Day to begin making plans to go to the area. They are still in rescue mode, which will be followed by a need to assess and coordinate relief efforts.

Lodging for volunteer teams will be a significant issue. Most of the churches where volunteers would normally stay are either flooded or inaccessible. Flooding should subside later this week. Starting next week, local volunteers will need to be relieved to go back to work or because they are fatigued.

After Labor Day there will be abundant opportunities to volunteer for cleanup, mud-out, assisting in evacuation shelters, etc. But all of the people that I spoke to stressed the need to wait just a little longer so that they can be better prepared to receive assistance.

They also stressed that they do not need donations of goods at this time. Besides road conditions, local officials want to have a handle on the things that they really need. The Tryon-Evergreen Baptist Association will have a message board set up as early as tomorrow to enable churches to connect with one another to coordinate assistance.

Metroplex Evacuation Shelters

Emergency Managers in the Metroplex said that they have stopped receiving donations of supplies and have had to divert them to a separate warehouse. Clothing donations should be made to a Goodwill location. One manager pleaded with me that this is not the time to bring supplies. "That day will come soon," She said, "But today is not that day." They are still waiting to find out what the actual needs will be.

If someone would like to volunteer at a shelter then they can go to this website to do so. This does require a background check.

Some final thoughts

Trust me, everyone knows and appreciates the sincere desire to help. They are just asking for a little more patience. The opportunity to help will last for a long time, and their greatest concern is that we will have a short attention span.

If you have a connection with a local church in that area and they can give you specific ways to safely help, then by all means follow that opportunity. Otherwise, the time to help will come very soon and the opportunities will be overwhelming.

Tonight, I ask that you pray as congregations for the people will live and minister in South and Southeast Texas, for the disaster relief agencies that are mobilizing to bring relief, and for God to be glorified through the compassionate response of His people over the coming months.

Here are a couple of relevant articles for further reference: