• Cliff Mansley
• Jun 8, 2011

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June 8, 2011

Dear Friends of New Creation,

The tornado which struck our city two weeks ago has had devastating effects on our community. Many in our congregation have lost friends and family, houses and homes. Nevertheless, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is resilient!

Our church building is located on the center edge of the debris field. Three blocks from where we stand there is nothing left for as far as the eye can see.  We believe God has placed us here “for such a time as this.” By God’s grace while our facility is aging it is, nevertheless, large. All twenty-four thousand square feet of space has been transformed into a relief center. There are ceiling to floor supplies, cots for up to a hundred or more volunteer workers and three meals a day being served to a lot of hungry people! We’ve helped thousands of people and served as a staging area for hundreds of relief teams.

New Creation is only three years old with worship attendance of about a hundred. Even so, we are robust in faith, witness and ministry. We are committed to reaching people with the gospel no matter what it takes. As a result we are determined to play as significant a role as possible in the effort to rebuild Joplin.

Already we have seen so many individuals, churches and organizations from all over the country arrive at our doorstep with food, supplies, money and helping hands. Everyone wants to know how they can help! This has lifted the spirits of the people of New Creation and our neighborhood. Not a day has gone by when I haven’t found myself with tears of gratitude for all that you have done. The outpouring of love has been astonishing! This is what it means for God to bring great things out of a bad situation. He has used you to bless us immensely as we seek to rebuild our community. We cannot thank you enough!

Because Joplin will be rebuilding for a long time to come I want to invite you to consider sending a relief team to work with us over the coming months. We will have a variety of opportunities for you to serve: clean-up, construction, cooking, cleaning our facility (a constant need!), counseling, distribution, etc. We also have need of groups who would like to sponsor a Vacation Bible School, a Parking Lot Gathering for neighbors and survivors or some other special activity that will pour courage and joy into the hearts of people in our community.

While we’re all so very new to the disaster relief scene we want you to know that we’re here to serve you as you serve us. So whether you’re sending an adult or youth team we’ll do our very best to accommodate you in the best way we possibly can. In the meantime, give us a call and let’s see what we can do to rebuild Joplin together!

Many, many thanks to you and everyone for the great kindnesses and generosity that you have shared with us over the past two weeks.  You have blessed us beyond belief!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Cliff Mansley, Jr.

1831 South Connor Avenue * Joplin, Missouri 64804 * 417-782-8200 * www.newcreation-joplin.com