More About Beyond The Storm

I. Our History

Beyond The Storm was birthed in response to the cataclysmic devastation Hurricane Katrina wreaked on our nation’s Gulf Coast.  Wanting to do something more than simply send money, Pastor Rick Cowley the Lead Pastor of Christ Center Church in Sedona, AZ called the church to action and Beyond The Storm was formed to respond to the pain so many were experiencing in Mississippi and Louisiana.  The first step taken by Beyond The Storm to respond to the brokenness caused by Hurricane Katrina was to adopt the city of Long Beach, MS as our focus. We sent Project Managers (Bill & Judy Etter) to live on site and to serve on the staff of First Baptist Church to coordinate teams of volunteers being deployed to the point of need.  From September 2005 until Pastor Cowley’s departure from Christ Center Church in 2007, nearly 20 teams were sent to Long Beach, material and supplies totaling over $1.5 Million were donated.  It was a tremendous launch for an effective ministry.

It was while leading these teams on deployment that Pastor Cowley discovered what would eventually become the long-term mission for Beyond The Storm Ministries. Through the process of ministering to hurting homeowners helping to deal with debris, mud-outs, etc. and more importantly sharing the light and hope of Jesus with them, it became apparent that the even greater ministry was to the spiritual lives of the volunteers themselves.  While a team of 25 volunteers could potentially minister to 10-12 homeowners there were 10-25 volunteers with whom there was virtually constant interaction and the opportunity to share Christ with them was equal to if not greater than the ministry to homeowners.  This has become the driving focus of Beyond The Storm.  Through the years the process has evolved and been refined but it remains the most significant and transformational aspect of Disaster Relief Deployment for Beyond The Storm. 

II. Our Ministry Objective

The stated objective of Beyond the Storm Ministries is to bring intentional, concentrated, and directed Discipleship to deployed volunteers on our team.  We have found that few things open the hearts of volunteers to the truths of Scripture and the Love of Christ like serving homeowners.  We readily acknowledge that almost nothing makes a homeowner more receptive to the Gospel of Christ than the complete devastation of losing everything.  What is traditionally overlooked or at least not accessed is the fact that that same openness and vulnerability is experienced by volunteers.  The Ministry Leaders of Beyond The Storm believe that an opportunity is lost should we not devote ourselves passionately to the ministry of transformational discipleship of deployed volunteers.  The simple numbers bear this out.  It is estimated that of the over 50 deployments Beyond The Storm has lead we have likely ministered to 200+ homeowners.  We serve each homeowner for perhaps 8-10 hours. Equally significant is that over those same 50 deployments we have ministered to over 400 volunteers for an amazing 100 hours each.  We encourage non-believers to deploy with us for the express opportunity to lead them into a personal relationship with Christ   These things have  become THE Mandate for Beyond The Storm.  They are THE reason we exist.

III. Our Ministry Plan

The plan is simple and we believe adaptable to a variety of formats.  Every volunteer is informed before deployment that this will not simply be a “debris clean-up” event or even just a “love on the homeowner” event.  They are informed that they will be exposed to a constant “diet” of all things Christ.  A “Team Name” is given to every team and related  Scripture is selected which is expected to be read each day and will be discussed at the end of each day at a “Team Meeting” in which we will debrief regarding the events of the day.

It was not until 2015 that we served for the first time with Samaritan’s Purse North American Ministries and we have discovered after  25+ deployments since that first one that no one does DR more efficiently or effectively than SP.  What is also true however is that the opportunity to sow into the lives of Volunteers is untapped and has great potential for Kingdom development.  Beyond The Storm has committed to that ministry as well.

THIS IS BEYOND THE STORM