Why Should We Become a ReadyCity?

Biblical Unity.

Working together with churches, media, schools, businesses and organizations.

By protecting the identity of each Christian group and harnessing the existing gifts and expertise of the Christian leaders within your city you will be able to provide a complete and biblical response to emergencies of all kinds that will benefit your whole community and beyond. ReadyCity helps Christians come from all walks of life - business, schools, media, medical, security and others to self-organize, self-sustain and self-mobilize an emergency city-wide response. ReadyCity training will help you discover the resources God has already placed in your city to respond together as a Christian community in unity as He desires - with united prayer, compassionate care and service that transforms the heart of the afflicted. You may have never thought that the greatest resource the Church has is itself - in both human and material resources. God has given us all we need. Our job is to wisely discover those resources, define our unique community emergency needs, and then forge a city-wide emergency response that is complete - spiritually, emotionally, mentally as well as physically. We are stronger together!

Fulfill the Church’s Mission.

Become co-laborers in Christ to expand His kingdom.

The scriptures are clear: the Church has a divine mission of seeking and assisting people to become fully mature in Christ through evangelism and discipleship. By praying before acting, compassionately caring in tangible ways for those in crisis both large and small, and sharing Hope found only in a personal relationship with Jesus, we become co-laborers with Christ in expanding His kingdom for all eternity. It may mean responding to the high unwed mother rate in your city, to a natural disaster in your community, to churches who are devastated by fire, or deploying trained Christians from a ReadyChurch to a worldwide disaster all these demonstrate the need for a unified Christian community committed to being salt and light, hope and comfort at such times. With these uncertain times, can you equip your city to do anything less?

Networking

ReadyCity will assist your city-wide response

• Using best practices for engaging your community for Christ during an emergency

• Getting leaders on the same page for responding to the identified needs

• Connecting with the people from all Christian walks of life that will be a part of your city-wide emergency response

• Assessing your community emergency needs and capabilities in cooperation with the larger Christian community

• Connecting your city to a larger national communications and ReadyChristian, ReadyChurch, and ReadyCity response network

• Connecting the Christian community together for a common purpose, while keeping the personality of each group

• Understanding critical needs in your community to work together

• Empowering the Christian community by speaking with one voice and aligning efforts in a unified response that honors God

• Supporting Christian leaders and gaining influence with city officials all while serving the needs of the city

Preparing

ReadyCity will help your community Survive and Thrive

While we often think of emergency management professionals as the only ones responding to disasters, it is a fact that 89% of volunteers in large-scale disasters are faith-based, mostly Christians who respond in various ways. On average, there is a church within 2.5 miles of every person in America. The Church is uniquely positioned to respond to crisis because they do so every day. They are seasoned and practiced, and most of all have the message of Hope in Christ that others do not have to bring healing to the hopeless. In addition to responding to its own emergency needs, common ways the Christian community responds to large disasters may include:

• Sheltering

• Warehousing and distributing supplies

• Crisis counseling

• Offering worship and other religious services to survivors, responders and volunteers

• Volunteering for clean-up or rebuilding efforts

• Case management in disaster areas

• Transportation

• Staging areas for volunteers, materials or vehicles

• Referring survivors of disaster to the appropriate agencies or services in communities

• Assisting the elderly, infirmed or handicapped

The ReadyCity training will prepare city leaders to:

• Assess community “real risks” from “perceived risks” and capabilities to respond

• Take responsibility for the Christian city-wide emergency response

• Set emergency teams to ensure a complete biblical crisis response

• Guide events that present the Gospel to an afflicted community or nation

• Deploy to other communities world-wide affected by disaster

• The ReadyCity training brings a positive readiness faith-building message that precludes fears giving volunteers a proactive approach to readiness by highlighting:

• How to respond to uncertain times with the love of Christ

• The role and responsibilities of the Church and Christians in crisis and disaster response

• What to do and NOT to do when responding to a crisis or disaster

• How to get your family, friends, neighbors, church and community ready to respond

• The principles of Biblical Readiness

• How to share the gospel sensitively and effectively with people in crisis

Get Started

Contact a CEN advisor for assistance or download the ReadyCity Training