Celebrate Nola

We are currently meeting in temporary trailers on site as our St. Bernard Campus is completed.  Click on any of these images to see more photos of construction details.  Check back often to monitor our progress as The Lord builds up His church in St. Bernard. 

Consider being a part of the Christmas meal on December 22nd out at St. Bernard.  For more information, call (504) 831-9673.

Proverbs 14:31 If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.

When God has provided us with more than enough, food, clothes, money - whatever resources that we can spare to help out another person in need - we have an opportunity to also be blessed by sharing in that abundance. God is so awesome in that He allows His Spirit to flow through us in response to our loving actions. His word instructs us to use kindness as pure worship, and to offer our lives in service. It also promises that when we do follow these instructions, we will receive eternal rewards and recognition by our heavenly Father. I can tell you personally that, while I thoroughly enjoy the time I spend in worship on Sunday mornings at church, I believe that we should follow Paul’s instruction to the Romans, and I have experienced the fellowship that God allows with Him when we do worship in this way

Rom 12:1 So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.

Monday mornings we will be providing light breakfast along with bibles, reading glasses, and other items requested by the residents. Please also pray for the people as they need and as The Spirit leads you.

We are grateful for this wonderful stage at our Airline Campus Activities Center, built by members of Temple Baptist Church of Rockford, Illinois.  Thanks, Dave Cutting, John Groh, Dave Wilson of Rockford, and Tim Cutting of Detroit Michigan!

On Saturday afternoons, several Christian congregations show up with meals for the people residing at Duncan Plaza. In accordance with God’s word and the vision cast by local ministers, the body of Christ is meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the people, many of whom can no longer afford rent since housing costs have escalated.

While some may choose to see the homeless and needy population as shadows, or mere statistics of people ‘not living right’, we recognize that this is untrue.

The homeless have faces - and names …

Daniel was thinking about his mother, who didn’t make it through Katrina. See the slide show by clicking on Daniel’s picture. Donna lives in a tent just up the hill from where Daniel lays. Her neighbor, Justin, aka ‘Catfish’ was very encouraged to hear that that our team plans to deliver breakfast bags with a boiled egg, fruit and drink. He said that they rarely have fruit and really need water. To join a team for Breakfast Blessings, contact Susan at (504) 913-7620. We covet your prayers and would be happy to have you visit while we’re there. We also appreciate any donations of resources or time that God leads you to provide. Here are just a few of the things mentioned during our visit were…Blankets, Reading glasses (we currently have a case of 144, but they go quickly), Fruit, Water, Socks, Underwear

Jeffery, from New York has a check, just needs a place to stay. Willie has a son and came in about a month ago looking for work.

Otis, shown below, stays out near the riverfront most of the time. Click on his picture to learn more about the needs there and in other areas of New Orleans.

Otis Jackson, hid from the camera as we first arrived, but began to ‘ham it up after the photographer showed respect for his privacy by agreeing not to photograph him if he didn’t want to be photographed. He complained about how people just come up and start photographing him without asking - just snapping and flashing in his face. Otis wanted us to pray for him, and then when Angela suggested that he throw away the 16oz before prayer, he agreed to ‘down it’ and then throw it away. We prayed that Otis would develop Christian friends and receive his deliverance from alcohol addiction.

Harold Nutter, the man who leads teams into the New Orleans mission field, demonstrates that work is a great way to serve Jesus. One of his most demanding tasks is an overwhelming and ever-growing stack of (volunteer) work orders for lawn care. So huge is the demand that the rule of thumb is for the yards which have become taller than a man to take first priority.

Harold doesn’t hesitate when asked to enter a home that he has declared unsafe for volunteer teams to go into. Harold is pictured here leaving the home of a New Orleans East native who wanted to recover a black tin box with some treasures within. The box was not found. Notice the mold covering the walls surrounding this laborer - and the sentiment on his shirt, “DO WORK” The back of this particular shirt references: Matthew ^25:40 “The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

The team from Crossroads toured St. Bernard, visiting neighborhoods that stand like time capsules almost as they did days after Hurricane Katrina struck, the levees broke and putrid, toxic waters flooded and devastated this area. This concrete porch, once the entrance for family and friends who came to visit, now stands as a monument of remembrance to the now absent inhabitants. The team saw many such lots, but what made this porch poignantly unique is the hand scrawled message on the side and top surfaces: “You are not forgotten.” and “R.I.P. You will NEVER be forgotten.”

The team wanted to stop and help this man cleaning a huge yard with a six-inch broom. He declined the offer, stating that he only had the one broom, besides, it wasn’t too much for him to do himself. He did accept their offer to pray for him, agreeing that anyone could use prayer. He is living in a FEMA trailer next to a relative’s abandoned house in St. Bernard.

One can only imagine the story behind this shell of a house with the face boards dangling from a patchwork roof, but with a sign of loyalty to the owner’s home. Posted in the front yard - “Roots Run Deep Here.”

The yellow sticker with a red ‘X’ across it indicates that this home is marked for demo by the parish.

Celebration Church Arabi - located at 7500 W. Judge Perez Drive, built to energy efficiency standards and outstanding structural reliability.

Volunteer teams hand out groceries, bibles and community resource information. Rose and Claude are regulars at the food distribution site. Rose called one of the team members to the truck for a prayer before they headed off. She stated that while she originally started coming for the groceries and supplies, now her main reason for visiting the campus is for prayer. The couple are now regular attendees at our Sunday morning services, which are currently held at Nunez Community College - 3710 Paris Rd., Chalmette, La.

10 am Sunday mornings.

Volunteers from Rock Harbor Church have joined us in the rebuild since just after Hurricane Katrina. The last week of August, 2007 another Rock Harbor team arrived to help out with the monumental task of rebuilding the St. Bernard area. Brittany Gomez, photographer at heart, helped to document their relief efforts by photographing scenes they had encountered.

Brittany is seen here talking with a gentleman whose home is almost complete. The team had come out to mow his lawn and pray for him and his family. 

FEMA trailers line the street behind the Rock Harbor team members arriving to clear and gut a garage that sustained significant flooding.

Our church is moving forward with the renovation of our Celebration Shopping Center retail space. Our anticipated open date for several of the spaces is the 1st of July. Here are some photos of that work being done. On Saturday March 31 we will have a special tour of the Airline Campus for all of our church members. The tours will run between 9am and Noon and will last about 30 minutes. Each tour will be guided by one of our staff members and will go through the history and future of what is happening at our Airline Campus. We have had a lot of people who have been asking us about what is happening at the Airline Campus…well this is your chance to experience it first hand.