Dan’s Story

When a disaster comes through, Samaritan’s Purse alerts us when it requires volunteers. They handle all the logistics and coordinate everything through local churches. Because disasters can strike at any time, often teams are deployed as individuals or groups to work with others from across the country.

A hurricane may require simply removing all home building materials and contents to the curb.

A tornado may likely involve cutting and removing fallen trees from homeowner’s property, or helping cover a roof.

A flood may involve removing contents, flooring and drywall to allow a home to dry out and be rebuilt. 

But in ALL cases, the foremost duty is to share the love of Jesus to anyone we meet. This is the most rewarding and impacting part of what we do. 

When we talked with Dan Walter, a Community Impact Leader and Disaster Relief Volunteer, about his experiences, this is what he shared with us. “We have experienced numerous occasions of people accepting Christ as their Savior and Lord after experiencing God’s love through our volunteerism. It is not always through the large-scale, complicated disaster work though.”

“On one trip, two of our volunteers found wind chimes that required a lengthy detangling and repair. One even required total reconstruction. Why do this?….because one was given to the homeowner by her sister who had passed away and the other by her son shortly before he died. These simple acts meant incredibly more than removing a tree or covering the roof.”

“It is often said that for about 80% of the people served, there is a personal storm that preceded the disaster. Their needs can be diverse and painful. For them to experience people happily serving them for free, simply motivated by God’s love, and coming from various parts of the country, is a moving experience and often opens the door to the Holy Spirit.”

People who survive disasters may contact Samaritan’s Purse Disasters or a local disaster coordinator to request help. Disasters occur anywhere and anytime, so opportunities to serve may be local, regional or across the country. At Christ Community Church, we attempt to focus on deployments within an 8-10 hour drive.

If you would like to get involved, provide your contact information to Community Impact through ccclife.org/domestic and we will notify you when a disaster occurs that Samaritan’s Purse chooses for a deployment of staff and volunteers.

For volunteers serving 3 days or more, SP provides sleeping quarters, hot showers and food. You may travel with other team members. Most of the time we have very little lead time so the notice is best suited to people who can go and serve within days of getting word.

There are no specific skill sets or tools required, just a willing heart. Duties are assigned according to your personal abilities and comfort level. There is no obligation to a certain number of trips. When SP notifies us, we will notify you with the details.

Most importantly we need to increase our number of volunteers who want to be notified in case they are able and interested in deploying.