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Colorado Fires Affect NRB Members

Focus on the Family Waldo Canyon Fire Colorado's deadly Waldo Canyon wildfire was fully contained Tuesday – almost three weeks after it broke out. Prayer requests for the area and the people there, however, are still going out.

“Right now, the greatest prayer need is for those whose homes were burned down,” shared Rochunga Pudaite from Bibles For the World, a member of the National Religious Broadcasters.

“Please pray for the families who lost their homes in Colorado Springs, and that God will help us recognize their needs and meet them,” added Steve Cobb from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group, another NRB member.

In total, there are 10 NRB members based in Colorado Springs – nine organizations and one individual member. While most of the groups’ staff members were able to return to their homes following mandatory evacuations of affected and surrounding areas, a few had no homes to return to, including some staff members at Compassion International and Focus on the Family.

“Some of our staff have lost their homes, while others have very bad smoke damage,” reported Compassion’s Kathy Redmond. “We would appreciate prayers for those staff members directly affected and prayers for the very brave firefighters who fought day and night to get the fires contained.”

According to reports, 347 homes were destroyed in the fire, which appears to have started on June 22 near a popular hiking trail west of Colorado Springs. By July 4, the fire had covered more than 18,000 acres of land, forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate, and resulted in the deaths of at least two. It was not until Tuesday that the fire was fully contained.

Salvation Army Waldo Canyon Fire Meanwhile, groups including The Salvation Army and the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are on site helping and ministering to communities impacted by the fires. The Rapid Response Team had been deployed two weeks ago in coordination with Samaritan's Purse, the international Christian relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, who is also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The Salvation Army, which has been onsite since June 24, has been aiding several hundred individuals affected by the fires.

As of July 9, The Salvation Army’s mobile feeding units had served over 17,000 meals, 20,000 snacks, and 44,000 bottles of water to fire survivors, first responders, emergency and military teams, FEMA response teams, and utility workers.

“Since the start of the Waldo Canyon wildfire in Colorado Springs, The Salvation Army has been striving to meet the needs of survivors, emergency response personnel and volunteers alike through food and beverage service and emotional and pastoral care,” reported the organization – another NRB member.

Not including those who traveled to Colorado for relief purposes, the following is a list of NRB members who were affected directly by the fires. Following that is a list of their collective prayer requests.

NRB Members:

Bibles For The World
Bev Singleton
Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group
WAY Media
Family Talk
Biblica
HCJB
Focus on the Family
Compassion International
Westar Media Group

Waldo Canyon Fire Prayer Requests:

Pray for those who lost their homes
Pray for the body of believers there to recognize their needs and to meet them
Pray for the city and the rebuilding that will begin in the affected neighborhoods
Pray for peace and special protection for the staff and offices of NRB member organizations and other affected ministries in Colorado Springs – i.e., “that this disaster would not hinder the great works God is doing through these organizations, which are dedicated to spreading the love of Christ around the world.”
Pray that God uses the situation to bring people to or closer to Himself
Pray for the psychological healing of those who sustained loss and help for them in figuring out their “next steps”
Pray that God will continue to unite communities through this
Pray for the firefighters who fought day and night to get the fires contained

PHOTOS ABOVE: (1) Waldo Canyon fire seen from the Focus on the Family Offices in Colorado Springs. Photograph courtesy of Focus on the Family (2) Commissioner Jim Knaggs, Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army's Western Territory, prays with other Officers. Photograph courtesy of Laine Hendricks, The Salvation Army.