With the catastrophic 48-hour torrential rains resulting in one of the biggest disasters to hit the U.S. state of Louisiana, which some commentators have described as an "act of God," church leaders are tapping the power of social media to spread the message of faith and hope to those affected by the catastrophe.
The disaster — which is considered the worst flooding to hit the area, leaving seven dead, some 20,000 people rescued and 11,000 displaced and staying in makeshift shelters — reportedly caught residents off guard by the amount of rainfall that the storm brought despite the National Weather Service's advisory on the storm issued days earlier, Fox News reported.
Now, church leaders are broadcasting their message of hope through Facebook Live, after the floods hit their churches, Baptist Message reported.
"We are in this together and we are going to come through this together. I know we all deeply feel a sense of loss and the challenges before us. When I say we are in this together, it's not just that you and I are in this together, but the Lord is in this with us," Pastor Jeff Ginn of the Istrouma Baptist Church said.
Another church leader who used Facebook to broadcast his message is Brian Crain, pastor of Progression Church.
"Just reach out and be the hands and feet of Jesus. It's going to take a lot of us to be able to work together and really see an impact made in the city. But it's a great way for the church to kind of step up as in the church collective body of followers of Jesus to get involved in the city," he said.
David Denton, pastor of Highland Baptist Church, another church inundated by floods, also called on his flock to take action and use the disaster as an opportunity to reach out to the needy and become God's agents of hope.
"Help with cleanup and exercise caution in doing so. Feed people who are hungry. Get involved wherever you can and by all means share Christ with people," he called on the faithful.
