(Evacuees inside Lakewood Church)
The Lakewood Church, headed by televangelist and author Joel Osteen, has offered refuge to more than 100 persons who lost their homes following the Hurricane Ida. On Sunday, Hurricane Ida which was a Category 4 storm with winds as high as 150 miles per hour, made landfall in Louisiana.
No fewer than two persons were killed due to the storm. Consequently, more than a million people in New Orleans and other regions had to stay without power.
Joel Osteen’s nephew, Matt Osteen informed The Christian Post that Lakewood Church, which is located in Houston, Texas, was available to those from Louisiana who need shelter and refuge.
“When the magnitude of the storm began to increase on Friday, we wanted to give people a place to go who were fleeing from Louisiana and New Orleans. And we allowed people to know that we were available to take refuge and shelter.
“The Lakewood Church’s shelter is designed to be a short-term shelter. But we plan to house and feed people impacted by Ida for a while. Our church also hopes to continue to partner with neighboring churches to aid in various response efforts,” Osteen said.
The church building, which was previously used as a basketball stadium under the name Compaq Center, has a seating capacity of 16,800 people. The property as a whole has hundreds of rooms that have been used to shelter people during natural disasters.
Apart from shelter, The Lakewood Church relief team also provided food to those affected by Ida. About 1000 packs of food, water, and other supplies were distributed to Louisianans who went to the church for assistance.
“The Church has a responsibility to step up and help by being the hands and feet of Jesus. The Church has a biblical call to step up. We are privileged and blessed to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and some people just want to see a demonstration of love in these tough times,” Osteen added.
Apart from Louisiana, New York was also hit by Ida which has reduced to a tropical storm on Wednesday. Reportedly, at least nine people were killed in the flooding.
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