A steady gentle rain is falling outside the office today and the forecast is for more of the same over the next few days. As the remnants of Hurricane Harvey spend themselves over the Midwest later this week many communities along its path will get a welcome rain. But welcome Harvey was not as he exploded into tremendous strength and pulled huge amounts of water with him toward the Texas gulf coast late last week.

Hurricanes are a regular part of life along the gulf coast and those that live there long know that the wind and water will come, but most were not prepared for what followed the landfall of Harvey late Friday night. The torrential rains and punishing winds descended upon the hunkered down inhabitants of coastal Texas from Corpus Christi northward, and for Houston and communities to the east the rain moved in and stayed. An inch of rain over a square mile will put down more than 200 million gallons of water. Harvey parked itself and dumped as much as 4 feet of rain over a swath of hundreds of square miles. Some estimate that an astonishing 24.5 trillion gallons of water have fallen, a staggering amount that is reflected in the many images of swamped cars and submerged subdivisions flowing out of the area and onto screens everywhere.

An aerial view shows home and vehiclesdestroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas, Aug. 28, 2017. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Malcolm McClendon.

Before and after shots of waves rolling unimpeded over roadways buried under water where just hours before rush hour traffic had clogged highways have stunned viewers around the country. Images of flooding are everywhere and with the death toll sadly rising to 39 today the situation on the ground is truly sobering.

Several of the churches on SermonAudio are at the heart of the area affected and although it is far too early to tell how many have been affected and what the extent of the damage has been we have heard from some of our friends there. We hope to contact more of them in the weeks to come and will continue to update this page with any new information that we receive.

Texas National Guard soldiers arrive in Houston to aid residents in heavily flooded areas from the storms of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 27, 2017.

We are sharing their reports with you in the hope that it will be an encouragement to pray for and help them. Please take a moment to read the reports from a few of our broadcasters below and join us in praying for them and supporting them as they seek to help in the recovery of those in need around them.

First Baptist Mont Belvieu

Four of five families in their own church had extensive damage to homes. When we called, the church was in the process of setting up to become a center for evacuees. The church was becoming the place where people brought their donations to help those impacted by the hurricane who are still in homes but need supplies. They are receiving donations for clothes, water, trash bags, cleaning, supplies, dog food. They are located near Baytown but request prayer for all the area from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur including the greater Houston area. Three other sister churches have become shelters for those totally displaced.

Lighthouse Baptist Church
C. Benjamin Dill

“In God’s providence when we built our church in 2002 we brought in 400 loads of select fill dirt which resulted in the building being the highest property in the area. At the height of the flood waters from Harvey, our church building had no flooding and the church property looked like an island with water all around. The Lord spared our church through this advanced planning. We give Him all the glory for past wise decisions. Several families in our church, however, have homes that are now flooded. Some of these do not have any flood insurance so we are going to help them first. Any donations that come in after this will go to recovery efforts where the Lord wants. Most of our families are able to go back to their homes. Several in our church have invited those who can’t go back immediately to stay with them for awhile. One thing to understand in this hurricane is that although it is a catastrophe, the loss of life has been very low. It’s also a blessing that thousands of people who have never cried out to God or have not done so in a very long time have looked to Him. Pray for our church and many others who now have a great opportunity to speak into the hearts and lives of these deeply impacted. We are not discouraged by these events. Our encouragement is in the Lord!”

His Word His Way
Saiko Woods

They are exploring opportunities to serve others in this time. They evacuated to Dallas before the storm and are asking for prayer that their home would not be looted before they return.

Church at the Cross
Chris Trousdale

One family that evacuated lost cars to the flood but most are fine. They are surrounded by flooded areas but they are dry. A few blocks away houses are under water. Homes are in 5 ft of water or more. Roads are flooded.

Founders Baptist Church
Richard Caldwell Jr.

The church facility has had no damage, approximately 24 member families have been impacted by the storm (whole house flood to financial hardships, cars), beginning to mobilize today (Wednesday) to help. Pray for effectiveness in ministering to church families and those in surrounding neighborhoods.

Grace Family Baptist
Stephen Bratton

Lots of neighbors in shelters. Immediate needs are not too great right now, however, several families have been completely displaced and lost their homes. Two families specifically had been greatly impacted by floods in the same area last year. One family took 6-7 months to rebuild their entire home and now a few months later lost it all. Pray for patience among the church family. Many are taking in these displaced members so lots of opportunity for hospitality. The long-term needs (starting in about three weeks) or rebuilding will be the greatest challenge.

From their website:

Our building has had some damage from a leaking roof but is still relatively functional downstairs. However, the devastating destruction caused by flood waters in the Greater Houston Area will affect our congregation and community for months to come. We are greatly encouraged by the calls from out-of-state churches with a desire to help with benevolence funds and prayer support. If you wish to donate directly to GfBC’s benevolence fund as we face building repairs, assisting members who have suffered a significant loss, and shine a light of hope with the gospel in our community, you may donate by clicking on the button, or by sending a check to:

Grace Family Baptist Church
Attn: Benevolence
106 Bammel Westfield Rd
Houston TX 77090

Grace Family Church
Brian Jensen

One of the church members had 2 feet of water in their home. The pastor was pulling up carpet as he spoke with us. Please pray for the Hernandez family. They are planning to have church this Sunday but not sure how many people will be able to get there due to the disruption caused by flooding.

Covenant Presbyterian Church
Lou Veiga

We at Covenant Presbyterian Church are one of the closest churches to the epicenter of the flooding, having received 50 inches of rain in my backyard and being 5 miles downstream from the Barker Reservoir, which is estimated to be releasing 10 trillion gallons of water into Buffalo Bayou per day. Our neighborhood is dry, but not 3 miles from us the homes have been destroyed by the on-going flooding.

Our deacons at Covenant have been working hard to help the members of our church and of nearby sister churches that have suffered property damage all this week. We have two PCA pastors whose homes were flooded last week. One family with a pregnant mom had to evacuate after their home took in 8 feet of water. The deacons have set up a special fund for disaster relief. We have many friends helping Houston and its Christian churches, but if anyone would like to give directly to our church it would be a very effective means of providing help quickly. The drama here is far from over, I'm afraid.

Our local area PCA churches have joined resources and are working together on Disaster Relief. Christ Church, Covenant, and Southwest are three PCA churches that are right in the thick of the Relief action at this time. To help them by giving visit their donation page.