Operation Care Dallas 2009 Summary
Honouring the poor has been a trademark of Operation Care Dallas. Guests started lining up at the Dallas Convention Centerthe night before the greatest Christmas celebration of the year. Guests were able to enjoy warm coffee and yummy donuts as they endured a chilly winter morning. I loved interacting with our four groups of guests: homeless and disabled veterans, adult homeless and families. A majority of the veterans served our country during the Vietnam War. We shared war stories and the hope of the future through Jesus Christ. We laughed and cried together as we gathered survey information and prayer needs. The air was now filled with uplifting music honouring our Lord Jesus Christ. Hundreds of volunteers led by Ron Batts mingled with guests ministering and obtaining information.
Two hundred thousand square feet of floor space was decorated and setup to meet the needs of our guests including evangelism and ministry teams, a committed prayer team constantly interceding and petitioning the Father, entertainment, medical and dental teams, counsellors, family restoration, portraits, clothing – coats, shoes, socks, underclothes; haircuts, makeovers, sleeping bags and blankets, employment opportunities, meals, foot washing area, and hundreds of other gifts and special services.
Five hundred evangelism volunteers gathered in the adult evangelism area to received last minute training and orientation from Rex Whitton, Douglas Raine and Kenny Randle. The energy and attitudes of volunteers had peaked and they were ready to meet our guests.
Veterans poured into the adult evangelism area followed by homeless adults. We were able to pray one on one and minister the plan of salvation to approximately 1200 guests per hour and guests were ministered to for 5.5 hours. Our helps team was led by Wayne Morris and his experienced team from the Potter’s House. Their prayers were heard in heaven as hundreds of guests were ministered to for addictions and oppression.
Families were led into the family evangelism area and each family was prayed for and ministered the plan of salvation. The average family size was 4.2. Team leaders Dwayne Pipkins and Nelson Ligon coordinated volunteers that ministered to an estimated 1280 guests per hour and guests were ministered to for 5 hours.
Hans Peters Thue from Norway and Reiner Huss from Germany led the Helps Team.
Both adult and family evangelism areas operated at full capacity for the first four hours which dropped to 50% capacity in the fifth hour. Our objective of praying for the needs of every guest and present the plan of salvation was met. Guest’s attitudes improved during the event as they were showered with love by our volunteers. At the end of the day we estimated that 11,160 guests heard “God’s Plan for Their Life” and 1419 decisions were made.
Church partners are being contacted for follow-up.
Many organizations gave truckloads of gifts and supplies to meet physical needs and Christians from all denominations provided spiritual help. We were blessed with an army of volunteers and we were able to sow two truckloads of clothing to other Christian ministries. God is sooooo good.
Everything we did was done with excellence in service to our Lord Jesus Christ.
We started planning for this event in January 2009 through prayer and fasting. Our Operation Care Dallas founder, Susie Jennings, is a visionary and sparkplug of the Christian faith for this event. Her spiritual gift is Helps and recognizing talent and moulding and forming a leadership team. Stan Cole utilized his management skills and coordinated many Board activities including evangelism.
We pioneered an online evangelism training program for the Operation Care Dallas event at www.fgbt.org website. One hundred thirty three volunteers and church groups were trained from the website. We are in the process of obtaining testimonies and preparing for December 18, 2010 event. We need your help. God Bless, Douglas Raine - Evangelism Chair