J. J. Watt is one of the best players in the NFL. He is also one of the best people in the NFL.
Long known for his character and humility, Watt’s compassion has been on display this week. He plays for the Houston Texans and has watched firsthand the devastation Hurricane Harvey wreaked on his city. So, he set up a simple funding account and recorded a video asking people to help him raise $200,000 to help the victims. As of this morning, his fund has grown to more than $12,000,000 and counting.
J. J. Watt is just one of many Hurricane Harvey heroes. A truck driver named Nick Sheridan drove nearly two hundred miles with his rig to help those stranded in floodwaters. With the help of two other drivers, the three rescued more than a thousand people.
Dr. Stephen Kimmel canoed through floodwater to perform emergency surgery on a teenager. A realtor named Stephanie Fry has opened her apartment to flood victims. Team Rubicon, a nonprofit composed of military veterans, helped get people to safety. A group of neighbors formed a human chain to rescue a man trapped in his flooded car.
Jim McIngvale, the iconic owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston, opened several stores to serve as shelters. Flood victims are sleeping on his showroom mattresses. National Guard members are staying in his stores as well. “This is the right thing to do,” he explained. “That’s the way I was brought up.”
Hurricane Harvey is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in US history. Thirteen million people are directly affected by this crisis. More than thirty-seven thousand homes were heavily damaged in just the Houston area; 325,000 people have sought federal disaster assistance. Eighty percent of those affected by the storm do not have flood insurance. A million people have been displaced.
An unprecedented crisis calls for an unprecedented response.
As churches, relief agencies, and other organizations are raising funds to support those in need, Denison Forum wants to help. A recent gift has enabled us to contribute $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey victims as a matching grant. I am writing today to ask you to join us.
Every dollar we give together will benefit storm victims through Texas Baptist Men, one of the finest relief agencies I know. TBM is on the ground across the Gulf Coast. They are distributing food and offering showers, laundry, childcare services, and flood recovery resources to those in need. Everywhere they go, they share the gospel with those they serve.
TBM has been engaged in disaster relief for fifty years. “Anyway—anytime—anywhere” is their motto. I trust them completely and am honored to partner with them in helping those devastated by this historic crisis.
To see my video and consider joining us in this effort, please click here. And remember: every dollar you give will be matched up to $25,000.
“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? . . . And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me'” (Matthew 25:37, 40).
Is there a greater privilege than serving Jesus by serving those he loves?
Photo: Volunteers get a briefing at the George Brown Convention Center that has been turned into a shelter run by the American Red Cross to house victims of the high water from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days.
Photo courtesy: Erich Schlegel
Publication date: September 1, 2017
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