P.R.E.P.A.R.E. Strategy and Example
DR. MARY ROBERTS
The example below pairs with the article:
Click to read the published article for more insights, timeline, phases chart, and more!
What if we read Scripture through the lens of crisis and disaster? God consistently transforms the most destructive moments into the most redemptive stories. In the New Testament, the movement of God thrived in the context of multiple crises, such as persecution (Acts 8:1), famines (Acts 11:28-30), urgent needs (Titus 3:14), death (Luke 8:49-56), sickness (Luke 8:43-48), riots (2 Corinthians 6:4-5), and storms (Luke 8:22-25). The accounts of responses to disasters and crises were written to all the followers of Jesus.
From Genesis through Revelation, the Bible talks about the aim of God to reach all peoples, using His people. Reading scripture through the lens of crisis and trauma, nearly every person God uses goes through times of crisis in their life, on an individual and/or communal level. How then can we prepare to join God in crisis and recover His designs out of disasters?
One way is to P.R.E.P.A.R.E. to recover God’s designs out of disasters: knowing Him, making Him known, and living by kingdom principles according to Scripture. Whether our focus is across an ocean or across the street, we can prepare locally, regionally, and/or globally to increase effectiveness to be able to love others well in Jesus’ name.
Posture.
Research.
Equipping.
Processes.
Assessment.
Response.
Establishing multiplying disciples and churches
P.R.E.P.A.R.E
A few examples to jog ideas:
Posture – How can you build a scriptural foundation to stand on in the face of suffering? What Scriptures do you need to write on your mind, engrave in your heart, and have on your lips in the midst of a crisis (Deut. 11:18-19)?
As an example, you can view the Suffering Blog Series. It contains 45+ verses and blog posts that show a sample of actions God calls us to in response to suffering and his promised benefits contingent on our response. You can use this for ideas of scriptures to memorize. You can also pray through them using the Prayer Cycle for Suffering.
Research – What types of disasters is your area vulnerable to? What skills and resources do the disciples, churches, and communities around you have? What supplies and skills do you all need to develop?
For example, in Southern California, there is the potential for earthquakes. People had the skills of being chaplains, organizers, prayer mobilizers, chainsaw abilities, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trained, supplies stored. Skills and resources such as temporary showers, food distribution, H2O purification, temporary shelter/tents, chaplains, CERT, and chainsaw usage could all be acquired by different people across the churches/community.
You can make a list of people willing to help, their contact information, what skills they already have that may be useful in this context, and what skills they want to learn. Then, connect them to opportunities to use or learn their skills as appropriate. This is also true for supplies, to store and to coordinate, for access with other organizations before a disaster hits.
Equipping – What are the trauma-healing and physical-response skills that can be multiplied alongside the spiritual tools? In what ways can you equip small groups of people to hear, obey, and pass on these tools – for their own resilience and strengthening one another?
Several simple yet significant trauma-healing tools can multiply, click here for a 1-page summary. It is critical to equip disciples and churches to be self-feeding in posture (response to suffering), prayer, 3/3 process (obedience to God’s Word), and people (body of believer relationships).
Physical-response skills will vary across different people, however, everyone can learn a baseline of basic first aid, communication, safety, timing, etc. Working in concentric circles, we as disciples and simple churches, can collaborate with different people/orgs in different ways throughout the crisis response phases.
The training cycle of modeling, assisting, watching, and leaving the skills helps to multiply as small groups or simple churches before disaster hits, which hinders communication, coaching, etc.
Processes – From individual to network-wide, what principles will shape how groups of disciples and churches will make decisions? Communicate? Problem-solve? What processes can you put in place ahead of time?
In a crisis response, being a contributor is greater than being a consumer, as we are blessed to be a blessing. These principles are a part of Zúme, which includes 32 biblical principles that can be used to equip people in crisis response preparation to then apply when a disaster takes place.
Building on existing patterns/relationships is important in the response work. In the SoCal network of house groups, there was the opportunity for spiritual prep and for “practice” of implementation on the physical side in responding in other locales. Then, when local disasters struck, the organization of the groups and people was in place at the basic levels to function simultaneously and in collaboration with other top-down groups, giving a great degree of resiliency to the simple churches.
Listening to the Holy Spirit both individually and collectively, can create what’s called the “starling effect”. Similar to the starling birds, which do not have a prominent, up-front leader but rather the flow of the birds in unity responds and adapts instantaneously to danger from predators.
Planning practically but realizing infrastructure loss can be catastrophic or the little infrastructure that remains may be overwhelmed and not able to function. For example, in Sudan, they had no phones or cell service for a time and were dependent on the Word, Holy Spirit, and their preparations without any means of communicating.
Assessment – What are a few simple questions that can help people assess the surrounding physical, emotional, and spiritual states? In what ways can continuous (formal and informal) assessment help?
A few questions to start with the big picture: 1. What is the situation? 2. What is God’s will? 3. What is God asking me and/or us to do?
On the physical side the questions shift through the 4 phases, such as: 1. What needs are not being met yet? 2. How can we help distribute resources in Jesus’ name and track to follow up? 3. How can we steward resources through the 4 phases to lead from rapid response to long term vision?
In the trauma healing tools, the three listening questions are helpful for both personal and communal processing: 1. What happened? 2. How do/did you feel? 3. What is/was the hardest part? In the big picture, people progress from survival mode to incoherent to coherent in their emotional processing and ability to communicate one-on-one or in a group.
Spiritually, one might ask, 1. Was there a time that you cried out to God? 2. Who was impacted the hardest in your community? 3. Do you know anyone hungry for God after all that happened? These questions can help identify potential persons of peace in a community through the phases of recovery.
Through continuous conversations with people closest to the ground and engaged in action, one can sense the pulse or acquire an informal assessment of where God may be working or where He might lead for next steps.
Note, maintaining relationships involves honoring those who “remained with the baggage” even if they are not able to actively participate in the crisis response. Also, seeking guidance from the Lord is essential. David at Ziklag and Abiathar (1 Samuel 30) are examples of these.
Response – In what ways can ordinary people in churches join God at work in each phase of disaster response: readiness, relief, recovery, and rebuilding? How can you connect, communicate, and collaborate with various professional skills and resources, with the main resource being ordinary people?
Readiness: All can be equipped, at minimum on the spiritual side (3/3rds process, prayer, posture, people). The physical preparation depends on the local context. Trauma-healing tools can be prepared and practiced through the 3/3rds process by everyone at varying degrees.
Relief: At the micro level, everyone can participate at the individual level. At higher levels, leadership can focus on the problems and opportunities at the macro or network level (at least through partnership).
Recovery: Again, all can participate at least on the spiritual side, but often on the physical side it is possible for many to implement ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) principles which parallel our spiritual ones in many ways. This phase is a sweet spot for people to demonstrate openness/readiness for spiritual things.
Rebuilding: Everyone can build on relationships and patterns established in recovery.
Establishing multiplying disciples and churches. What will be your plan to respond rapidly with a long-term vision? How will the disciples and churches sustain the response through the four phases?
In many ways, crises are a test of how sustainable and resilient our work has been in the 4Ps (posture, prayer, 3/3rds process, people). It can also be a source of breakthrough as previously prevailing patterns of belief and behavior among people are tested and found inadequate to the new challenges. They are then prepared and open to consider alternatives. They can be exposed to new ideas to establish new patterns of behavior and beliefs. Overall, in the limited window following a crisis, worldviews can change quickly!
What could your families of disciples and churches put into action and pass on to others to PREPARE?
If you read the P.R.E.P.A.R.E. template with “you” as singular, go back through and read with “you” in the plural form: “we.” How does it change your response?
Understanding the response phases is foundational to any strategic planning and decision-making processes. The more you can access real-time information on the ground, asking questions appropriate to the phases, the more helpful your response efforts can be…
Explore other articles, including an accompanying graph, chart, and more information in the Mission Frontiers Nov/Dec 2023 Issue: Movements Accelerating Through Crisis Response.
Nov/Dec 2023 Issue:
Movements Accelerating Through Crisis Response.