Christians in North Dakota say they are getting the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the midst of what may be the worst flooding in the Fargo area in more than 100 years.
Since last week churches have been working alongside the National Guard, state troopers and other government agencies to prevent the Red River from overtaking the levees protecting the city. On Friday morning, thousands of residents were asked to evacuate as the crest levels reached 41 feet-more than 22 feet above flood stage.
Pastor Bob Ona said his church, First Assembly in Fargo, and other local congregations have seen this crisis as an opportunity to serve their community. "We've opened a facility, of course, as a volunteer point for people in the community," the Assemblies of God minister said. "It's meant coordinating massive amounts of foods. We had pizza places and stores and restaurants and grandmas baking pies. People providing food for us so that we can in turn give that to the community."
Ona said his 1,800-member congregation has not only been providing food to the thousands of volunteers, but they also have been able to pray and share their faith with the nonbelievers who come to the church to eat or rest. "I have seen people, believers, helping wherever they could and anyone they could, and I've asked them, ‘Why are you doing this four days in a row with two hours of sleep a night?'" the pastor said. "They told me, ‘This is what Jesus Christ would want me to do.' They view what they're doing as ministry to the community."
Representatives from the Christian Emergency Network (CEN), a national disaster response agency, said that being a light in a dark situation is one of the most important things Christians can do during crisis situations. "From our perspective we want to encourage the Christians to remain calm and realize that this is the time when many nonbelievers will be greatly impacted ... by the calmness and pleasantness of the Christians that are involved in not only responding but also evacuating," said CEN spokeswoman Judy Hannestad, who is also a Fargo resident.
The community has made great strides to secure the city, but Ona and Hannestad stressed the need for Christians around the world to pray that God would intervene on their behalf. "We'd like people to be praying that the circumstances will help instead of hinder," Ona said. "That the city would avert a major disaster. ... We are going to put our community first. We want to serve as Jesus would have us serve." [charismamag.com, 3/27/09]
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