When You Don’t Feel Qualified
It was Missions Fair Sunday at our church. I wanted to sign up for something but I didn’t feel qualified for anything.
My husband was excited about a relatively new ministry called PAR (Prepare and Respond). It is a faith-based, all-volunteer disaster response group that formed in our north Alabama region after devastating tornadoes ripped through here in 2011. A small group of dedicated believers had worked together cleaning up communities after the tornadoes, and wanted to stay together for future storms. PAR was born.
But I couldn’t use a chainsaw.
How could I be of any help to this group?
Sometimes we feel led to join a ministry, even though we don’t feel qualified to help. We see the obvious skills needed, ones we don’t have. We are afraid to join in because we don’t know what we can do.
Despite misgivings that day, I signed my name anyway for the PAR group.
When another set of tornadoes hit close to home not long afterward, I received an email from PAR to help.
What had I gotten myself into?
Help the Helpers
But I showed up anyway. If there was work I could do, I’d do it. If not, I’d go home.
And, wow, was there work. At the first assigned neighborhood, debris was everywhere. Our chainsaw cutters immediately got to work, cutting limbs that were blocking driveways and threatening roofs. As they cut, they needed people to pull the limbs to the road. I could do that!
So for hours that day, I helped the helpers.
I went back several more days as the crowd of volunteers shrunk but the need remained strong. One of the women in charge of a neighboring response team was overwhelmed with a stack of papers one afternoon. She happened to mention that she needed help inputing the volunteers’ paperwork into her database.
I wondered, could I do that? It was a totally different way of helping than I’d imagined. But it was a need I could meet.
It changed everything for me. I found my niche.
I became a computer person for our disaster response group, keeping up with the volunteer list, updating our website after storms hit, sending out emails and creating sign-ups for deployments to go help.
Help Where You Are
Our PAR group has continued to grow. We have volunteers from all denominations plus from local businesses and the community at large. We are able to serve not only those in Alabama, but also those outside of it.
When Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, FL, we loaded up volunteers and traveled with our trailers of chainsaws and roof tarps and mudout equipment to give free help. Likewise to Whiteville, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; Olive Branch, Mississippi; Moffett, OK; and many more.
Last weekend, we sent teams to Nashville, TN, after their tornadoes.
We often make our own arrangements of sleeping, feeding, and finding uninsured neighborhoods to help when we deploy. But we also partner with larger Christian response groups, like Samaritan’s Purse, Eight Days of Hope, and Hope Force International. Together we accomplish much to help those who are devastated after a storm but who lack resources.
Sometimes I’m able to go on the trips. I do my thing of pulling limbs that the chainsaw guys cut.
I often get to talk with homeowners, too (my favorite thing). I listen to their stories of where they were when the tornado hit, or pray with them about their future, or direct them to their local ministries who can offer help.
But when I can’t go? I know I can help, even from home, by helping the helpers. Thanks to the internet, I give our volunteers the information they need, connect them with our team leaders, and keep up with their online data.
Same Goal
When we expand our idea of how we can work in a ministry, God may surprise us with opportunities we didn’t see coming.
And if one of those ways is being a support person, helping those who are serving on the front line, then let’s do it.
Whether in front or behind the scenes, the outcome is the same: the good news is spread and the love of God is felt.
Helping the helpers is being a helper, too. No chainsaw skills necessary.
What local or national ministry do you participate with? Is there a group you’d like to join but haven’t yet? Please share in the comments.
What an amazing ministry you serve, Lisa! Yes, we may not always be able to be on the front lines of a service, but there is always something we can do to help. Blessings!
Exactly, Martha. We can usually offer some kind of help. And even when we can’t offer tangible help, we can always offer prayers!
Lisa, what a wonderful way to be of service. Your servant’s heart is evident from the work you do. We don’t always have to do big gestures to help (even though I would call what you did a big gesture), helping in small ways is beneficial too. What a wonderful way to build community.
Thank you, Laurie. I appreciate your encouragement. As God would have it, my patience has been tested this week with a lot of instability in the PAR website. ha.