Church's Prayer Ministry Continues in Shadow of Disaster
And on the evening of Friday, Sept. 30, offering that regular presence of prayer and care made more sense than ever before as a flash flood ripped through the small sister communities, flooding and destroying homes and many downtown businesses, leaving people in desperate need and a state of shock.
“Many businesses’ interiors were destroyed and caked in layers of mud,” Tyson says. “And there are so many people who are now homeless, sleeping in tents or their cars.”
Tyson, 75, and his wife, Cherie, 76, have been in the ministry for nearly 50 years and at Calvary Shadows for the last 13 years. He says that on Sunday he was able to reach Convoy of Hope, the Assemblies of God compassion partner, and by Tuesday a truck of relief supplies were delivered to Calvary Shadows AG, which was spared any flood damage.
However, before the truck arrived, Tyson and volunteers from the church were out Monday morning serving at the prayer drive-thru, which will, for now, be open daily. And the 25-member congregation offered what funds it could to help people in desperate need — such as committing funds to help house a single mother and her three children who lost their home in the flooding.
“On Tuesday, Convoy of Hope dropped off pallets of hygiene supplies, socks, cans of macaroni in sauce with beef, and other relief items,” Tyson says. “We packed our bus with those supplies and took them to the prayer drive-thru. We put up signs and began to distribute the supplies to the people coming through . . . just so many people needing help and a place to stay . . .”
The church also had 50 backpacks on hand that they packed full of goods from Convoy. Tyson says that within just a few hours all the backpacks had been given away.
Although Calvary Shadows is currently a small congregation, Tyson says the people are hardworking and compassionate, and he believes the church has turned a corner as it continues to impact the community spiritually through prayer and now physically through providing funds, food, and relief supplies.
“I believe it could be two years for the community to fully recover,” Tyson observes quietly.
The prayer ministry, Tyson explains, began due to a sense of urgency to reach beyond the walls of the church. Although forced to move from its first location by the county, when they contacted the owner of the local Red Roof Inn about using his large parking lot, he was more than agreeable — stating he believed God would bless him by having them there.
As the church prays with community members, Tyson says he has been somewhat surprised but pleased by the openness of those seeking prayer. Some have tangible needs, but others are seeking healing, restored relationships, even children who are missing — things normally not shared with people who are “strangers.”
“Prior to starting our prayer station, I never thought about looking at the people driving next to me and then wonder what they’re going through,” Tyson admits, “but now I can’t help but look at people that way. Our whole point of the prayer ministry is to let people know that somebody cares for them — we care for them and God is there for them!”
