New Orleans Command Center Established!

We are pleased to announce that the State Council has approved today the acquistion/lease of a Command Center facility which will be located in Chalmette at 1010 Judge Perez Avenue. The 12,000 square foot facility will provide the hub of our work in the city and will enable us to mobilize our efforts to reach and help the citizens of New Orleans. This will be funded by a joint partnership with the International Executive Committee, Operation Compassion and Louisiana Church of God, Inc.

Our Disaster Response Team has done a tremendous job to this point in coordinating relief, recovery and reconstruction. We presently have projects on-going at Manantial de Vida, Amazing Grace, Faith Temple, Friendswood, Sharp's Chapel, Bedico and Cornerstone.

The facility will serve us in three initial areas of mission:

1. The distribution center for water, non-perishable food supplies, medical supplies and necessary items for local residents who need them. We envision that we will distribute items on a scheduled basis from this location and also transport via smaller trucks/vans to regional neighborhood locations.
2. We will house our relief and ministry teams in this location, getting them as close as possible to the ministry sites. This will allow teams to have a single location from which to work and will allow for maximize coordination on our part.
3. The work of chaplains and Men of Action teams through our denominational headquarters will be stationed out of the command center. This will enable networking within the Church of God and with para-church organizations to be done smoothly.

Our Disaster Response Team has done a tremendous job to date with the coordination of relief, recovery and reconstruction. We presently have projects ongoing at Faith Temple, Manantial de Vida, Amazing Grace, Cornerstone, Bedico, Sharp's Chapel and Friendswood. Until we are able to make the necessary adjustments, we are housing relief teams at the Manantial de Vida church in Metairie. More details will be forthcoming in days ahead.

We thank God for the efforts of so many in this time of need.