Elevation Outreach

Widespread damage is being reported in the mid-Atlantic region in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  The death toll from the storm is at 33 in the U.S. and rising.

Power is out for nearly 8 million people.  New York’s Mayor Bloomberg calls it the worst storm his city has ever seen.

Elevation Church is responding.  We are in contact with our strategic outreach partner Samaritan’s Purse as it deploys five teams to assess the damage.

If you’re interested in being a part of one of these disaster response teams, let us know in the comment section below.

You can help starting today at our Elevation Matthews location.

Wednesday you can begin bringing blankets and non-perishable food to stuff a truck for victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Then next weekend, November 10-11, we’ll team up with Community Blood Center of the Carolinas to hold blood drives at 5 of our 7 Elevation locations.  The American Red Cross says already critically low blood supplies have been further depleted by the storm.  Details to come.

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NASA Image of Hurricane Sandy Tuesday AM

By TONIA BENDICKSON

Ready to serve, several Elevation volunteers have contacted our offices to say they want to be a part of the Hurricane Sandy crisis response.

We will be partnering with Samaritan’s Purse as it launched this morning headed towards New Jersey with emergency vehicles stationed here in Charlotte.  We are talking with local churches in the area as well.

CNN is reporting at least 16 deaths and more than 7 million people without electricity.

We are exploring the many ways we can help during this crisis.  In the early stages, we know donating money, blood, blankets, bottled water, and non-perishable food will be a help.

We expect to bring you an update later today.

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By TONIA BENDICKSON

What an incredible series we just wrapped up at Elevation on the Holy Spirit.  In case you missed any of the powerful sermons, you can catch them on the Elevation Church sermons archive page or this past Sunday’s sermon will air live on the Elevation Network at noon and several other times each day.

Our eGroups have been serving all over our city every week in response to the Holy Spirit’s leading in their lives; at outreach partners like Jackson Park, One 7, Project 658, Hope Cancer Ministries and more.  You can find ready-made opportunities on our SERVE events page.  There are two great ones tonight and tomorrow night if you’re looking for something right away.  Show up and serve with other Elevation folks and get to know one of our strategic outreach partners.

MONDAY NIGHT:  Our outreach partner Autism Foundation of the Carolinas is looking for help building furniture for their new offices.  TUESDAY NIGHT:  Hope Haven is planning a trunk or treat tomorrow night for homeless families.  SATURDAY:  There are just a couple slots left for strong, hard-working adults who want to help build the new Charlotte Rescue Mission Dove’s Nest playground.  We are also gearing up November 19 for a huge TURKEY TUESDAY to serve our partner Matthews Help Center and neighbors who need help putting together a Thanksgiving feast for their families.

If none of those opportunities suit your schedule or preferences, check out our ABOUT page for ideas on how to serve any of our 47 outreach partners.  If you click on any of the partners, you’ll see ideas on how to serve them.

We just heard a neat story about how Pamela Hallmark’s eGroup is adopting A21 Campaign for their outreach efforts.  Here’s how they’re doing it:

“Our egroup has adopted the A21 Campaign for our outreach. One of our members brought note cards for us to send encouraging letters to the victims. We will each complete a card every week we meet and then will rotate on who will send them for the week. She also made us each a bejeweled cup to place on our counters or desk at work to collect all loose change. She bought a big black piggy bank that we all signed. We will deposit all our coin in it and donate to the A21 organization every time we fill it. We will also be collecting items to send in packages overseas to the girls. We are all so excited about this cause and feel these 4 little things can bring hope to many!”

So many ways to serve!  Thank you Pamela for stepping up to serve women rescued from human trafficking.  We look forward to hearing YOUR stories, too!

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By CHRISTY BAKER SEAY

This next Saturday, November 3, Elevation Church will come alongside one of our Outreach partners, Charlotte Rescue Mission, to do some groundbreaking work at their beautiful new Dove’s Nest facility.  Your generosity has allowed Dove’s Nest to purchase a playground for new residents, and we get to be the volunteer installation team.

On the surface, our work may appear that we are just breaking ground, but if you look deeper, you will see that what we will be doing is truly groundbreaking.  For the first time in the history of the Dove’s Nest, children will be able to remain with their mothers, living at the Dove’s Nest as they complete the life-transforming program to break the bonds of addiction and other destructive behaviors.

In the United States, 20 million children are experiencing physical, verbal, and emotional abuse from parents who are addicted to alcohol and / or drugs.  In Rescue Magazine, Dr. Tim Cermack reports that children from addicted homes suffer from emotional and psychological symptoms much like a combination of codependency and a variant of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), commonly known as the disorder affecting Vietnam veterans.  These children are eight times more likely to become addicts themselves or to marry an alcoholic or drug addict.

The Dove’s Nest will work to break that cycle for their youngest residents by providing counseling to help them understand that while the environments they have come from haven’t been normal, they are still normal kids. They will teach them how to have fun, as many of them simply don’t know how to have fun; they have spent much of their young lives as caregivers to their addicted parent or parents.  The Dove’s Nest will be a safe, and happy environment, something many of these kids have never known.  Many Dove’s Nest kids will see a rise in their school attendance and quite possibly their grades as a result of their newfound stability and educational support.

Most importantly, the Dove’s Nest will introduce them to the unconditional love of Jesus and who they are in HIM.  They will teach them to see themselves through His eyes, and to believe in their own futures, futures where they can do anything and be anything they want to be!

Sign up here to break some ground with us at a spirit-filled place where kids can reclaim their futures while their moms are learning to be the women God called them to be.

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