Tornado Victims: How You Can Help

In the aftermath of the devastaing tornados that hit the state of Oklahoma, many Acts 29 pastors have banded together to spearhead relief and rebuilding efforts.The following post from Pastor Andrew Burkhart explains how you can join with them to help the people of Oklahoma.

by Andrew Burkhart

As most of you know, multiple tornadoes ripped through parts of Oklahoma on May 18th, May 20th, and May 31st, killing almost fifty people and destroying thousands upon thousands of homes. The city of Moore, the city in which I live and pastor, was hit harder than any other city in Oklahoma. 

Immediately after the events on May 20th, pastors and leaders from local Acts 29 churches gathered together to create Serve Moore, (see www.servemoore.com), a collaborative effort of multiple churches and organizations working together to serve the people of Moore and the greater Oklahoma City metro. Serve Moore is our long term plan for engaging our city and serving those affected by these tornadoes. We have literally seen thousands of volunteers come out and help with any and every need that has become apparent. In addition, Serve Moore has gone so well that the city of Moore is now channeling all of their relief efforts through the organization. 

"Serve Moore has gone so well that
the city of Moore is now channeling all of their
relief efforts through through the organization."

Hundreds of people and dozens of churches from all across the country have been contacting us and asking how they can play an active role in the tornado relief efforts in Oklahoma. As someone who lost their home in the May 20th tornado, I have been personally amazed at the generosity of the people of God and the eagerness to serve that they have displayed. And the most effective way to serve my family, my church and my city is to generously give of your money to Serve Moore. 

Currently, Serve Moore is being ran by pastors of local churches in Oklahoma. My city absolutely needs tornado relief efforts, but my city also needs healthy churches with healthy pastors. And in order to have healthy churches, we must free up our pastors to focus on what matters most: being a godly Christian, husband, father and pastor. By generously giving to Serve Moore, you are freeing up the local pastors of Acts 29 churches to get back to pastoring, while also funding an amazingly well-run organization that is taking point on disaster relief efforts in the effected areas of Oklahoma. 

"My city absolutely needs tornado relief efforts,
but my city also needs healthy churches with healthy pastors."

Through your donations, you will enable Serve Moore to make four full-time hires for at least the next six months. Our goal is to raise up Serve Moore as a strong organization ran by Spirit-filled, Jesus-loving men and women who take point on coordinating and mobilizing volunteers to serve the devastated cities in Oklahoma. 

Our immediate need is $70,000, though our long-term need is about $600,000 as we continue to serve those affected in Oklahoma. We are not looking to any one church for the full amount of funds needed. Both Frontline Church and Love & Justice Church will be using the money raised for tornado relief efforts to help fund Serve Moore, but the task at hand is much larger than what we could pull off on our own. This will require the people of God from all walks of life to pull together their resources and generously give to Serve Moore.

Would you prayerfully consider financially giving to Serve Moore? Would you consider spreading the word to the people in your relational circles? 

If you are interested in giving, please visit www.servemoore.com/give or if you have additional questions, please contact

For the gospel,

Andrew Burkhart

Lead Pastor
Love & Justice Church