Tony Cummings reports on the Church response to the bushfires sweeping Australia
Australia's churches have been responding to the cataclysmic bushfires
across the nation.
In response to the unprecedented and
ongoing devastation caused by the Australian bushfires over the last
several months, Hillsong Church has organised a Global
Bushfire Appeal. 100% of giving will go towards assisting volunteer
firefighters across the country and supporting families directly
affected by the fires. In a later deleted tweet, Senior Pastor Brian
Houston announced the church had raised more than one million
Australian dollars for the appeal.
Melbourne's Planetshakers Church invited its members to assist victims of the bushfires with a donation. The congregation responded, offering $252,875.89 for relief efforts through Empower, the community service arm of Planetshakers Church. All of the money collected has been forwarded to the Australian Red Cross, Salvation Army, Country Fire Victoria and ACC Bushfire Assist fund.
Said Planetshakers' Senior Pastor Russell Evans, "In the face of such a catastrophe, it's inspiring to see so many individuals standing up and being generous. I'm thrilled with the love and financial support members of Planetshakers Church have contributed during this crisis."
International response to the bushfire crisis has also been
significant. The Billy Graham Rapid Response team have deployed two
groups of crisis-trained chaplains from the USA, Canada and the UK to
Victoria and New South Wales. Also, Hillsong's worship leader and songwriter
Brooke Ligertwood from Hillsong Los Angeles said, "As Hillsong Los Angeles we
get the great honour of being a part of a global church. Part of that
honour means supporting our church across the world when disaster
hits. As a church we're praying for Australia in the midst of the
horrible fires that are happening across the country."