It's Time to Go in 2022

For many years, Gateway’s Go team prayed about the best avenue to be involved in disaster relief. There were several one-off opportunities when we sent teams to respond to natural disasters that occured throughout the years, but having no consistent relationships or connections made it difficult to plan trips, know where to go, how to be involved, etc. So when Dick & Greta Schrock suggested we look into trips with ReachGlobal Crisis Response, we were eager to learn more. We decided to send a small team to Midland, Michigan to help with recovery from the dam collapse in 2020. On this trip, we met with Eric Couch (now a Gateway partner) and discussed how Gateway might be more involved in the future.

ReachGlobal Crisis Response (RG) is a disaster relief ministry that is often among the first to respond to areas where disaster strikes. They do this not only by bringing physical relief through rebuilding homes and businesses, but also by sharing the love of Christ to communities that need hope. As RG states, “When crisis strikes, we’re committed to physical and spiritual transformation, and we work to rebuild lives and communities by sharing the hope of Christ—all through the ministry of a local church.” After hearing many good things about the ministry, our Go team was ready to experience this first hand.

So in April of 2021, Gateway sent a team to Corpus Christi, TX to team up with ReachGlobal concerning damage left behind from Hurricane Harvey. The team from Gateway helped to repair a man’s home who had lived in this community for many years and was also given the opportunity to share the love of Christ with him and his family. Each day consisted of morning devotionals with breakfast; a solid workday filled with construction, painting, landscaping, and prayer walks; dinner with the team; evening chores; and a reflection time on where we saw God at work that day. While the work was meaningful and fulfilling, we really appreciated the opportunities in place to build relationships, evangelize in the community, and be challenged on a spiritual level.

This inspired us to officially partner with ReachGlobal in September 2021. With that, we now plan to send teams a couple times per year to help respond to these crises, and bring the hope of Christ to hurting communities. Our first trip with ReachGlobal is right around the corner! March 27 - April 2, we will be sending a team to Covington, Louisiana in response to damage left from hurricane Ida. I encourage you to pray about this opportunity, and if you feel like the Lord is leading you to go on this trip, sign up HERE - or reach out to me with any questions. I look forward to “Going” with many of you in 2022.