Hurricane Command Center Closes in Louisiana
By William Isaacs, administrative bishop, Louisiana Church of God
In October 2005, the Louisiana State Council in emergency session authorized State Overseer Bill Isaacs and State Youth Director Kelly Shope to mobilize funds and personnel to respond to the urgent physical needs of residents in New Orleans, Louisiana as the result of Hurricane Katrina. What developed was NOMACC (New Orleans Ministry and Command Center) located in St. Bernard Parish and the town of Chalmette, a suburb of New Orleans.
Under the leadership of Pastor Ernie Maynard and Pastor Terry Ray, NOMACC began coordination of feeding, clothing and emergency ministry assistance to thousands of local residents trying to rebuild their lives in the storm’s aftermath. The work was coordinated by a Disaster Response Team led by Bishop Isaacs and members of the State Council and in cooperation with Operation Compassion, Men & Women of Action, Chaplain’s Commission and countless benevolent agencies within the Church of God and other organizations outside the church. Additionally, the Church of God in Louisiana was able to partner with God’s Pit Crew, United Way, Red Cross, Operation Blessing, Feed the Children, World Relief and many other privately funded groups. Literally thousands of families were fed, counseled, ministered to and blessed. Local churches throughout the country and world sent more than 300 volunteer teams of workers to NOMACC who labored, prayed, gutted houses, rebuilt homes and walked the neighborhoods offering residents whatever was available.
The NOMACC story is more than one person, more than one church and more than one agency. It was a cooperative effort demonstrating one mission—to be the living, visible presence of Christ in the city! People came from Washington state, from California, from Chicago and from many different places in the USA and Canada to volunteer to help. The vision of the Disaster Response Team was progressive from Relief to Recovery to Rebuilding. As things improved, NOMACC became a hosting site for construction teams and volunteer groups of men and women who were coordinated through United Way and Men and Women of Action to help qualifying families rebuild their homes. Our contracts worked for 40 homes per six months and the stories of families who were blessed by the Church of God to rebuild their homes with the donations of labor and love are too numerous to retell in this report. Hundreds of families are back in their homes now due to the efforts of so many nameless individuals who came and gave a week of vacation, forfeited their Winterfest trips, gave up ski trips and more to help others. Through the International YCE department scores of youth groups converged on New Orleans in the summer to help NOMACC host regional urban “block parties” to feed and create fun environments for families and children. It was a massive undertaking, funding through World Relief, coordinated with local government officials and staffed by Church of God youth groups.
Since March 2006, NOMACC has been led by a dedicated couple from Virginia Beach, VA—Jim and Gina Hudson—who first came to NOMACC in January 2006 with the Richmond, VA, Victory Tabernacle Church of God volunteers. Upon returning home, Jim and Gina began to feel God calling them to return. At the same time, Bishop Isaacs and his team were praying for someone to help lead and to allow Pastor Maynard to return to his church from which he had commuted 200+ miles back and forth weekly. Jim & Gina became the answer to that prayer and their organizational and leadership gifts enabled NOMACC to expand its reach into many areas. Jim was appointed to the Greater New Orleans Task Force and was member to numerous commissions coordinating the recovery effort. Though there are still many areas which are not recovered, the city and surrounding areas are slowly improving and new commercial development is taking place. Local authorities predict a ten-year rebuilding plan.
As things have developed and after careful planning, NOMACC closed its doors on March 31, 2008 with great satisfaction of the work accomplished in the name of the Lord to the city and its residents. We were “a living visible presence of Christ in the city” and through the leadership of many and the faithfulness of all those who came to New Orleans, we believe this work has been a success. We were not the only ones to make a difference but we were among those who cared and gave our best. There remain many other needs and as a state, we plan to remain engaged through the various agencies still active. God has been faithful and our story is not one of gloom and despair but of hope and victory that in one of the darkest days of our state’s existence—God enabled our survival and allowed us to help others along the way.
The Church of God in Louisiana would like to offer its gratitude to the leaders of our church both at international, state and regional levels who without delay came rushing to our assistance. We want to thank departmental church leaders and groups who coordinated relief efforts and helped us navigate federal, state and local regulatory agencies. We are most thankful to thousands of volunteers, pastors, local churches and youth groups who gave their time and energies to this journey. You are the untold story of NOMACC. Most of all, we are thankful to our God who has been our strength in a difficult season.
The Louisiana State Council has commissioned “What Our Storms Teach Us” as a written record of the incredible story of the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina by the Church of God in Louisiana. All proceeds ($10) from the sale go to the Disaster Relief Funds of the state. To get your copy, email bill@lacog.org.
