From Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey:
Early this morning a devastating storm with tornados touched down in Florida, not far from Grace Brethren churches in that area. As far as we know, none of our churches was hit, but teams have been mobilized to investigate affected areas and offer assistance.
Funds will be made available from the Grace Brethren Disaster Relief Fund. However, the balance in this fund is running low. Please consider giving to this fund or through the Great Commission Bible Institute using the information below. Here is an email from Randy Smith, Pastor of Sebring, Florida, Grace Brethren Church:
“The line of tornadoes and severe storms is still parked just to the north of our county. There are further warnings for towns less than a half-hour to the north of Sebring. Lady Lake and Deland have sustained severe damage overnight.
“Our church is already mobilizing a team through the Great Commission Bible Institute students here in Sebring to go into ‘relief mode’. Our plan is to begin by helping the now entirely destroyed Assembly of God church in Lady Lake, and then assess damage in other places.
“We are ready and willing to accept prayer, funds and any other assistance to aid our people in this time. If God moves someone to give, they may give through GCBI at 3333 Golfview Rd, Sebring, Florida, 33875 and mark the memo ‘Florida relief’ and it will get there. Because of the hurricanes, we already have response plans for such emergencies.
“It is probably helpful to remind the FGBC that individuals and churches assisted us to reach scores of people after those tragedies, and some individual churches in the FGBC gave thousands to relief. It is times like this we remember to thank God for the goodness of our brethren and our Fellowship together.
“Pray for families that have lost everything this morning, and keep us in prayer as the storms continue right now. God has used these times in the last few years to lead many people to Christ, and we are moving into this tragedy with an eternal perspective and great hopefulness that in all of it, Jesus will lead us to some who need not just their ‘stuff’ back, but HIM! We want even this trouble to be used to bring in the harvest!”
–Randy Smith, Pastor, Sebring Fl.