September 14-17, I had the privilege of traveling to the Houston, TX metro with approximately 80 students and leaders from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. Our purpose for the trip was simple … to assist churches as much as possible in providing relief after the devastating destruction of Hurricane Harvey.
Our team split into three groups working in different areas of Houston. One group stayed on the northeast side working at Camp Ta-Ku-La and the area around the Lake Livingston Dam. Another group based out of First Baptist Church of Groves, southeast of Houston in the Beaumont area. The third group focused on the west side of Houston basing out of Southwinds Baptist Church in Tomball. My plan was to travel to each location and try to visit with as many pastors as I could while in the area. In a two-day period, I traveled more than 500 miles, all within what would be considered the Houston metro. Houston truly is a city of cities.
Here are a few takeaways from the trip …
God is so much bigger than man.
I love the city of Houston. One of the things I love about the city is its vastness. Within the city of Houston are not one, but two of the busiest airports in the country, NASA, the “medical district” (including MD Anderson), the “Galleria district” (including one of the largest malls), downtown (including some of the tallest building in the country), NRG Stadium, Minute Maid Stadium, and Toyota Center. The city is finalizing construction of the Grand Parkway, a 185-mile loop around the city. What mankind can build truly is amazing. What’s even more amazing is how much more powerful is our God. It was a reminder of how big God is and how small we are. (Jeremiah 32:27)
It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, disaster does not show favoritism.
While driving around town I went through some extremely impoverished areas and I went through neighborhoods with multi-million dollar homes. The devastation was the same. Scripture states that God is no respecter or of persons (Acts 10:34) and this was clearly seen.
Hold onto things lightly.
Each night the teams would gather together to reflect on the day. A common statement heard was something along the lines of, “These people lost everything they had.” It was extremely humbling to drive through neighborhoods and see piles and piles of earthly possessions stacked next to the road. You could see everything from large kitchen appliances to newborn toys. I even stopped by the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, TX which has been converted to an automobile graveyard. Amazingly, I spoke with many who had lost everything and maintained their joy. (John 15:11)
You are never more like Jesus than when you are serving.
Anyone that has been around me much or heard me preach much has heard this statement. It is rooted in Jesus’ statements in John 13 after He washed the disciples’ feet. (John 13:14) There is no shortage of Christians serving in Houston. I saw families that lost everything still serving others. I saw pastors serve others before taking care of their own needs. I saw students willingly giving up a free weekend to serve those they had never met. I also believe you are most satisfied when you are serving others. Even though it was extremely difficult, there was a sense of satisfaction for a hard days work.
The church can and should be, more effective than the government.
USA Today reported nearly 80% of the aid delivered to communities with homes devastated by the recent hurricanes was provided by faith-based relief groups, primarily powered by the church. TX BBF Chairman, Mike Marcellus, reported that approximately 27,000 families have been helped through the churches connected with the BBFI. I was able to visit several churches that had set up distribution centers as well as providing manpower to go into houses to remove damaged goods. (James 2:14-17)
The greatest ability is availability.
This is another common statement that pastors will make. This is another reality seen through the students from BBC that traveled down. The day before we left for this trip we did our best to almost “scare” the students out of going. We told them how tough it would be, how gross it would be, even how potentially dangerous it could be. That didn’t slow them down. Even though these students knew little about tearing out drywall or home restoration, they made themselves available. (Isaiah 6:8) I can also honestly say that the entire time we were away I did not hear one student complain about anything.
Pastors are heroes, but they are people too.
I had the opportunity to meet with 11 different pastors while in town. It was amazing to hear their stories. Each of them seemingly told the same story in a different way. Some told me about the devastation in their church buildings. Some told me about the devastation in church members’ homes. Some told me about the personal loss of their own homes and/or vehicles. More than one still are not able to return to their home to stay. I heard heroic stories and stories of personal sacrifice. But I also heard in these stories a weariness, a physical and emotional exhaustion. History will teach us that some of these pastors may not survive their ministry because of this. As we are praying for Houston, we need to focus our prayers on those that are leading in the front lines of this spiritual battle. They are worthy of double honor. (I Timothy 5:17)
A few years ago, BBC adopted the slogan/nickname “Life Change U.” I can say with confidence this was a life-changing trip. Not only for those we served, and not even just for the students, but also for me. I know I will never be the same. Thank you to those that prayed for us and those that gave so our teams could go.
A bonus takeaway … Traffic in Houston is still horrible. That is definitely one thing about living in Houston that I do not miss.
You can see a couple follow-up videos by clicking here … BBFI || BBC
Randy Harp 