A Southern California church has launched a relief effort to support victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, inviting the community to donate essential items at their five local campuses.
Rock Church in San Diego, in partnership with Dream Center in L.A., is coordinating efforts to assist residents affected by the devastating fires that have displaced tens of thousands and killed at least 25 people.
The multi-site church has set up eight 26-foot trailers to collect the items, with one trailer stationed at each campus in the San Diego area and three at the Point Loma campus.
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The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Senior Pastor Miles McPherson.
“What amazes me is that as a pastor, it has not only been our Rock Church attendees, but the San Diego community as a whole,” McPherson told CP. “We originally set out to fill five trucks, and we ended up filling nine 26-foot trucks with items, which is about 90 pallets of water, diapers, wipes, new clothing, new blankets, toiletries, trail mix, and energy drinks.
McPherson said the church has seen significant support, including truck donations, volunteers and contributions of essential goods.
“We have seen people step up and donate the much-needed items, donate trucks to bring the items to L.A., and volunteer to sort the items. When our trucks were filled, we partnered with other organizations to pick up the extra items,” he said.
As for the most needed donations, McPherson recommended prioritizing basic supplies, including pasta, rice, canned goods, non-perishable food items, diapers and pet food.
Working with Zoe Church and Dream Center in L.A., McPherson said volunteers directly distribute these items to victims and first responders.
“Water, toilet paper, and other basic supplies are sold out in the grocery stores in L.A., so those are great items to donate,” he added.
McPherson also said the church is careful to only collect items that will be useful to those on the ground.
“Our partner organizations have shared with us that once we deliver the trucks with items, they will be given out immediately,” he said. “They have been seeing trucks emptied and distributed to people in as little as an hour.”
The church’s commitment to relief efforts stems from its own experiences with disasters. In 2007, Rock Church had been in its brand-new church building for a couple of months when fires hit San Diego. The church would go on to serve as a triage center and provide shelter for senior citizens.
In addition to supporting those directly affected by the fires, McPherson encouraged people to pray for the victims.
“Pray for healing and that God would restore the people that have been impacted both physically, mentally, and spiritually,” he said. “We also need to appreciate what we have. We are blessed to have a place to go tonight and lay our heads down. We need to not take for granted our home, our car, our food.”
Since the fires broke out earlier this month, thousands of Los Angeles residents have faced displacement, property loss and ongoing uncertainty due to the wind-fed blazes that have destroyed more than 12,000 structures and charred more than 60 square miles.
Rock Church and other ministries have worked tirelessly to support those impacted by the fires, including chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, who are working alongside Samaritan’s Purse to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who have been affected.
Click here for more information on how to support Rock Church’s fire relief efforts.
