Miracle of Island Church
- Pastor Rusty
- Nov 9, 2009
Early September of 2008 was a special time at Island Church. We had been in our new facility for 18 months (the old Gerland’s store on 69th St.) and our crowds were maximizing our 20,000 square foot building. Another 9,000 square feet was available to us and our plan was to obtain it for our Children's Ministry. Our Continuing Biblical Education Class, which is our in-house Bible School, was entering its second year and the class was full. Our Street Outreach, which meets every Saturday, was feeding and ministering to upwards of 300 people and our 6th Annual Fall Harvest Conference was set for October.
When you live on Galveston Island there is a certain relief that comes at the end of every summer. School starts, the crowds are much smaller, and there is some anticipation of what the fall will bring. With the cooler weather brings cooler water and a cleaner gulf, along with the wonderful events of fall and early winter make this Island a special place. Redfish in the gulf, doves and ducks on the West End, and flounder in the channel make this my favorite time of year.
Up until 2008, I had a false sense of security based on the August hurricane of 1983, Alicia. In my mind, September storms were our parents and grandparents to deal with. After all, I was only five when Carla hit in September of 1961. I thought, “wow it’s September, we've made it through August, another year without a storm.” As September began, we enjoyed a couple days of good surf as Hurricane Gustof passed by and hit Louisiana. I had noticed the depression in the Atlantic that turned into Ike, but that was in the "Atlantic" an East Coast storm or so I thought. To our amazement the storm moved southwest, across Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico. As the landfall predictions continued to move north, by Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning many began to sense where the storm would land. Island Church always prays over the Gulf of Mexico, practicing what the Word of God instructs us to do and using the authority that redemption through Christ affords us.
Packing preparations began on Wednesday starting with the church. Then our house, my parent’s condo and brother's home were next as all of us live on the Island. There was a sense of urgency as our staff and family prepared for what we hoped would be just another inconvenience. Thursday night and into Friday morning the storm needed to take a Northerly turn to spare the Island, it didn't happen. The decision was made Friday morning, my parents, my wife and daughter, and a family friend would evacuate to South of Corpus Christi. My brother’s family would remain weathering the storm at the old courthouse on 21st Street. It was hard to leave, but we knew it was the right thing to do.
The trip to Corpus seemed to take forever as the only thing to do on the road was to monitor the radio for the latest news. We found a motel secured a couple of rooms and settled in for a sleepless night anticipating what Saturday would bring. Of course, there was constant communication on cell phones as all the calls coming in and going out only spoke of Ike.
As Saturday dawned in Corpus, the dry wind blew hard from the North. Our hope was that things were not as bad as they could be. When the storm hit, the center crossed over the eastern end of the Island as a category 2 hurricane. We thought the damage would be minimal. Little did we realize that the storm surge was that of a category 4 hurricane. Galveston had been flooded. In some places the water was measured in inches and in other places it was measured in feet. It was late afternoon on Saturday before my brother was able to get through to us on his cell phone. We were surprised by the news, Island Church had over 4 feet of water, our home had 2 feet, my brother’s condo had roof and structural damage, and my parent’s home had about a foot of water. Fires had raged around my parent’s condo, but miraculously their condo was saved.
On Sunday the 14th, we were invited to minister at a friend’s church in Aransas Pass. It was a service of mixed emotions. They had received their miracle and were spared the ravages of Ike. And here we were stunned by the reports coming out of Galveston, wondering how to proceed with our recovery. Thank God for His grace as we were able to leave that church encouraged as they sent us away with prayers of supernatural recovery.
On Monday morning, loaded with recovery supplies, we moved north to EI Campo settling in with friends and planning our strategy to get back on the Island. By Tuesday, we were able to get on the Island and were amazed at what we saw. The Island was extremely damaged. The boats were piled high like toys on I-45. Neighborhoods around Offats Bayou were devastated. The 61st Street Pier and the Balinese Room were gone. It was obvious Galveston had been hammered by the storm surge.
We made our way to our home and surveyed the damage; thankfully my brother and his family had already cleaned our freezer and refrigerator out. The damage was extensive, but we were well insured and began to prepare ourselves for the process ahead. After that, we headed for the church. The scene was surreal; not only was there water damage, but the force of the moving water had flipped everything upside down. It was a devastating set back, but we decided early on, by the grace of God, not to let it be a defeat. Everything from our beautiful carpet and chairs to our sound system was destroyed as well as all of the furniture and ministry material in our nurseries, children and youth rooms. In our offices, all of our computers, desks, copiers, and files were destroyed. We had secured most all of our church records high atop file cabinets and wrapped in plastic. Never did we anticipate the volume of moving water that flipped everything over and washed it into an unrecognizable mess. Words cannot describe the sight and smell we experienced. We had our emotional moment and determined in our heart to trust God for supernatural recovery. We hired Blackman Moring to start the remediation process because we were well insured, or so we thought. As the weeks progressed, we contacted our insurance company and to our great disheartenment found out that we didn't have flood insurance. For the six years that Island Church has been in existence, we have always carried a full complement of insurance including flood insurance. In 2008, during our move to this location, for some reason the flood insurance wasn't rolled into our policy and we were left with over $300,000.00 worth of damage. Was it over? Was six years of faith and work on the Island coming to an end? Our minds were bombarded with discouraging thoughts of what we had witnessed. Island Church needed a miracle.
One of the things we proclaim at Island Church is that God is a good God. He did not send the storm, John 10:l0 states it's the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus said He came to give us life and that life in abundance. In the midst of this we made the decision to believe God, trust His Word, and exercise our Faith for a miracle. In the midst of this God gave us a word from the Bible. Isaiah 61-7 "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusions they shall rejoice in their portion; therefore in their land they shall posses the double; everlasting joy shall be unto them."
Well we had done it, we drew our line in the sand, now it was time to act on what we believe, "Faith without works is dead." We didn't solicit, we didn't beg, we didn't write emergency letters we just began to act as if we had all the money we needed. It was not assumption or presumption it was a grace that God afforded us to walk through this trial. We emptied all of our accounts and started the restoration process.
First, we had to re-establish our services; we had not held a service since Tuesday before the storm. On Sunday, September 21st my brother and some of the staff left on the Island held service in the parking lot of Island Church. Myself and the remainder of the staff held service at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home up on I-45. Many members were displaced and those who lived on the mainland could not gain access to the Island. Our mid-week service and prayer service were held at a home in La Marque. As we continued through the next few weeks, we began to sense a spirit of Faith in the congregation and things began to happen that convinced us we were in the midst of a miracle.
When we started the remediation process with Blackmon Moring, we mistakenly thought we had flood insurance. When we were given the terrible news that we didn’t have flood insurance, Blackmon Moring had already completed the tear out and was finishing the last step of the process. When I received the six figure bill, I went to the man in charge and had him stop the job. I explained to him that we would pay the bill no matter what we had to do. In their kindness and by the mercy of God, they charged us less than a quarter of the original bill. We then, were able to pay right away…our miracle was just beginning.
Our phones began to ring, from pastors to friends from all over the world. The question was "What do you need?" and the answer was always "Whatever you can do." Money began to flow, checks from $25 TO $25,000.00 dollars and everything in between. Some of those who gave, we didn't even know. It was overwhelming and as we had always believed God’s provision was greater than the destruction.
Although we began to see a break through in the restoration of our building, we still wanted to be a blessing to our community. That's when God sent us Christ in Action, a ministry from the East Coast. Together with them, along with members and staff from Island Church, over the next six weeks we were able to distribute over 40,000 meals. Our parking lot became a hub of activity, water, cleaning supplies, and clothes, were freely given on a daily basis. Many people were ministered to. We prayed with, encouraged, and blessed all those who came through. It was a testimony to the goodness of God. Teams were organized and sent all over the Island to help move property as well as debris removal. The miracle continued and God was truly doing more than we could ask or think.
We made the decision not to cancel any of our church events and to continue to support our monthly missions work around the world. Once we concluded our annual Fall Harvest Conference in October, we merged our mainland services and our Galveston services (which were held in the parking lot) at the San Luis Hotel. In December, we held our annual Christmas Banquet in which the Church itself gave an incredible offering toward the restoration of the building.
We continued our services at the San Luis until everything was completed and restored in our building. By March, we had new walls, new paint, new sound system, new carpet, new electrical and plumbing, new office furniture and doors, new computers and a renewed sense of destiny on this Island. Everything was paid for by cash and to God be the glory for what He has done!
You may be skeptical when it comes to miracles, but those with a testimony always have an advantage over those with an argument. At this point, people still say “where was God for me in all this mess?” But God was the compassion in the first responders. He was the bravery in our Beach Patrol, Police and Sheriff Departments and our Fire Departments. He was the kindness in complete strangers who came from all over the country to restore the Island. He is the wisdom in our leadership; the understanding of those who had hard decisions to make. Has everything been perfect? No, it never is. But progress has been made and what was meant for evil on the Island, God is turning into good. In the Bible, Jesus never said there wouldn’t be a storm, but He did say we would have a choice on how to build our spiritual life. How will you build you’re life? Will you build on the solid rock of Jesus? Or build on the shifting sand of the world systems? There are many “storms” that life can bring your way. Maybe Ike isn’t the storm you are facing. Maybe your storm is in the form of a negative doctor's report, your finances, your marriage, or your business. Maybe you're discouraged, depressed and overwhelmed with what's gone on. Regardless of your storm, recognize that something is happening in our area, a renewed sense of spirituality and an application of what we have. God is moving in the many churches of the Country that represent the Christian way of life, in the little start up and store front churches with great hope for the future, in the mega church which is experiencing a healing revival, and at Island Church where we received our miracle! We all believed God for the miracle at UTMB. The Bible says if we believe there is nothing that is impossible. Will we ever be the same? No, but by the grace of God and faith in Him we can be better. We don't need some vice that destroys people to bail us out, but now more than ever it’s time to recognize that God is doing something on Galveston Island and in Galveston County. It's not time to trade something that cannot fail for something that will.
We, at Island Church, would like to thank the following for their help in the restoration of our building: the many churches and individuals that gave unselfishly, Cajun Contractors, Alert Alarms, The San Luis Hotel, Queens Bar-B-Q, Bobbie Stone A.C., Island A.C., West End Electric, Performance Construction, Balloon Plumbing, Galaxy Carpet & Tile, Carnes Brothers Funeral Home, Audio Development, Coastal Creations, A-I Fire Equipment, Cottonwood, Ideal Lumber, Blackmon Moring, Sherwin Williams Paint, and a host of friends and volunteers that have been a great blessing. To God be the glory and our best days are ahead!
