Iowa Flood Update
In June 2024, devastating floods swept through northwestern Iowa. Just over a year later, the region is still in the process of recovery and rebuilding. Two Alliance churches, Faith Reformed Church in Rock Valley and Hope Church in Spencer, were directly impacted by the flooding and continue to walk alongside their congregations and communities through the recovery journey. The Alliance recently connected with Pastor Chris Van Beek of Faith Reformed Church and Pastor James Runcorn of Hope Church to hear an update on how their churches and communities are doing one year later.
Share how your church and community were affected by the flood.
Pastor Chris:
The Faith Church facility was not affected by the flood water as we are built on a higher location in Rock Valley. But because we were higher and dryer, we had the opportunity to serve our community by providing shelter, food, clothes, meds, hygiene items, fellowship, support, and prayer! Our community has a population of around 4000 people. It was estimated that 400 structures were affected by the flood (homes, businesses, & churches). We opened our doors as best we could and worked with the city and other organizations to help support the people that were affected. At one point we were providing around 5000 meals a day to families and people that volunteered to come into our community to help clean up. Our facility was used for around 8 weeks after the flood to support families through various organizations. It was amazing to witness our community and region come together during the flood. All the walls that we built came down and the doors were opened to anyone and everyone. Not just by Faith Church but the surrounding area. Our goal was to care for (physical needs) and care about (spiritual & emotional needs) anyone that walked into our facility. The Red Cross used our facilities as well to help care for people. They put a Red Cross sign out front pointing to our church that read “Refuge.” I pray our church will always be a refuge for anyone that is willing to walk through our doors.
Pastor James:
Spencer was hit hard by the flood last year. 75% of our city was directly impacted, ranging from a few inches of water in the basement to total structural loss. The immediate response was amazing. Multiple ministries responded (Samaritan’s Purse, 8 Days of Hope, Convoy of Hope and several others). FEMA was involved as well, but they were not as helpful or as organized as some of the ministries. Today, there is a Long-Term Recovery (LTR) Team designated to oversee the process of fully rebuilding everything that can be rebuilt. Multiple homes have had their foundation removed and rebuilt. The LTR Team is partnering with various groups and ministries as that process continues. World Renew is one of those ministries & represents Christ well here in Spencer. The work is far from over. They have estimated anywhere between 3-5 years for Spencer to be completely back to “normal.”
As you reflect on the past year, how have you seen God at work in your congregation and/or community?
Pastor Chris:
We believe God works in all things for the good of those that love him, according to His purpose! God has absolutely done that in this season of the flood, in our churches and our community! I think we can all agree that we tend to build walls around certain characteristics. Denominational walls, walls built between churches, walls around different cultures or languages, even walls around a person’s last name. I believe that those walls were torn down during our flood. Yes, some of them have been built back up to some degree, but I think God has worked in the hearts of the people of Rock Valley a desire to see those walls remain torn down. For some it may have caused great fear and anxiety to walk through the doors of our church, but after the flood I don’t believe those doors are as scary. For some it may have been unheard of to walk to a neighbor to see how they were doing, now I see it happening all the time without even giving it a second thought! For some the language barrier was too great to overcome and prevented the care for one another. Now that language barrier is not as big of a hurdle and we do our best to communicate. Before praying with one another in the community was seldom offered. Now, prayer is what unites us in the Lord! We are not perfect; there are still walls standing and some even being built. But there are more and more people willing to climb the walls or even take a few bricks down in order to care for and about each other!
Pastor James:
We have seen the Church actually acting like the Church. I use a capital “C” because it is the Church/the Body of Christ coming together to accomplish His work. It isn’t about a congregation or denomination. There has been a healthy perspective shift in some people, to focus on His purposes for His people, living lives in a world where everyone needs Jesus.
What are some specific ways the Alliance can be praying for your church and community as you continue to recover?
Pastor Chris:
Please pray Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 3:14-21. That we would be rooted in the love of Christ and we would know the width, length, height, and depth of Christ's love for us. Being rooted in the love of Christ will allow us to declare, “If God is for us, what can stand against us!”
Pastor James:
Please pray for us to keep that perspective alive. It is so easy to drift back into regular routines. We need to remain engaged in His work every day, not just in times of crisis.
Partnering with World Renew
Pastor James referenced World Renew, the Alliance’s partner in disaster response. World Renew continues to play a role in Iowa’s recovery efforts, walking alongside this area as they rebuild. You can read more about their work and impact in Iowa in World Renew’s update, which also includes a story from another Alliance congregation, Orchard Hill Church, and how they stepped in to serve following the floods.