OPC Disaster Response Video: Stir Up One Another to Good Works
One of the locations at which OPC Disaster Response served in Houston following Hurricane Harvey. The OPC Disaster Response lawn sign is visible out front.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
-Hebrews 10:24 (ESV)
Background:
The OPC was directly impacted by six different hurricanes in 2017-2018. The magnitude of Hurricane Harvey, in particular, forced OPC Disaster Response to a new level of both opportunity and ministry. The long-term work in Houston has brought moving stories of how volunteers from the OPC and beyond have changed peoples’ lives -- both physically and spiritually. This has provided a template for future ministry that we want to share with the church.
The Committee on Diaconal Ministries (CDM) hired a professional to produce a number of resources for the church, including a documentary-style video that shares the testimonies of those who have been helped by the OPC Hurricane Harvey Response Ministry in Houston. The goal of the video is to inspire people to get involved and to register in advance to serve as disaster response volunteers.
In June 2019, the CDM released the video at General Assembly and the commissioners watched it in full. The response was encouraging and there was an expressed eagerness from some pastors to gain access to the video for use in their churches.
The Roll-Out Plan:
David Nakhla, OPC Disaster Response Coordinator, recently sent an email directly to ministers and elders in the OPC, asking them to help with the CDM's roll-out plan for the video.
The CDM requested that each church set aside one Sunday School class in the next couple of months to watch the video. The video is 24 minutes long, it is moving and engaging, and it will not bore the congregation. The length of the video is designed to fill only half of the Sunday School class, preserving the other half of the time for discussion.
In addition, the CDM requested that a follow-up Dinner and Discussion be scheduled. In this way, we hope to avoid having congregations just watch the video, appreciate it, and then move on to other things. We hope that the video will "stir people up to good works," and that a follow-up Dinner and Discussion will result in a registry of people who can be called upon to serve when disaster strikes.
The necessary resources to facilitate the discussion and sign-up are attached, below.
The Attachments:
The Video:
The video was created by the Disaster Response office in order to capture the essence of these amazing opportunities for service and witness. As you watch, consider placing yourself on our list of volunteers, so that when the time comes, you can stand ready to come to another's aid. After watching, if you have any questions, please contact the OPC's Disaster Response Coordinator, David Nakhla.The video can be viewed here:
The Disaster Response Volunteer Registry:
Click here to register in advance as a disaster response volunteer!
Contact:
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this plan, please don't hesitate to contact:
David NakhlaOPC Disaster Response Coordinator David.Nakhla@opc.org 562-760-7606