Texans on Mission's Rand Jenkins visits with David Johnson, lead pastor of Highlands Church north of downtown Los Angeles.
Jenkins: People are noticing that Christians are praying, helping
Southern California churches have been praying in the midst of the devastating fires in their area, and the answer to a specific Sunday evening prayer has been noticed and appreciated by others in the community.
Rand Jenkins, Texans on Mission’s chief strategy officer, participated in the Sunday evening prayer service at Highlands Church north of downtown LA. “On Sunday, the weather forecast anticipated winds topping 70 miles per hour through Wednesday,” he said. “The high winds never came, and forecasters canceled the warning.”
Pastor David Johnson shared about the prayer service on Instagram. “On Sunday night we rebuked the wind in Jesus' name,” the pastor said. “We contended for our city and its people. … While we aren’t out of the woods … we are certainly praising God for His faithfulness.”
After the social media post, Johnson received a “thank you” text from a neighbor who doesn’t go to church.
“In the midst of this tragedy,” Jenkins said, “people are noticing that Christians are both praying and working to help. Prayer is our first job, but it’s also important for someone who is hurting to see we care about them.”
Johnson said the prayers and helpfulness are “so consistent with the Gospel.” And, “we’re just starting to see those glimmers of hope rising from the ash.”
Los Angeles Christians believe “God is going to do an amazing work of calling the city back to Himself,” the pastor said.
TXM is partnering with churches to provide “respite centers” for fire victims. These are places where volunteers will do people’s laundry in special units provided by Texans on Mission.
“Volunteers are going to wash their clothes while the people, the homeowners, can sit and have a cup of coffee and their children will be entertained,” Jenkins said. “It will be time to breathe, to rest and to recover.”
Fire recovery efforts will follow in the weeks to come. “It's called ash out,” Jenkins said. In that next stage of relief, volunteers will “sit down with a homeowner and find out what mementos they hope to recover. What are they trying to find that ties them back to their history?
“We sit next to them and scoop the ashes and then sift, hoping you find that memorabilia. It could be wedding bands; it could be photos; it could be Christmas ornaments, something that ties you back to your house,” Jenkins said. “Those things don't have a monetary value, but they have so much meaning to people. They connect you back to who you are.”
TXM shower/laundry units left Dallas for California Wednesday. Other volunteer disaster relief leaders are expected to arrive in Los Angeles Sunday to establish Incident Command Centers for coordinating relief efforts.
In the meantime, TXM supporters are asked to pray and give toward the effort.
Chief Executive Officer Mickey Lenamon has asked people to pray specifically for:
- A swift end to the fires.
- For those who have been affected by the fires.
- Strength for the firefighters who are valiantly serving.
- The churches that are serving with TXM to minister to people impacted by the fires.
- That the Gospel be clearly proclaimed.
To learn more about financially supporting the effort, visit TexansOnMission.org/wildfires or call (214) 275-1100.