Written by: Tera Ertz
Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash
In September of 2023, The GMC Virginia conference selected Pastor John Wright and Fairfax GMC Lay Leader Phil Hannum to spear head the VA Conference Disaster Response Team. We have both the planning and hands on disaster response experience to help establish a conference-wide network and protocol to streamline our response to disasters in the USA and around the world. In addition to local disaster response, the VA Conference Disaster Response team is part of the larger global GMC’s Disaster Recovery Group, which operates under the Commission on Kingdom Advancement.
Our first steps have been to group Virginia into geographic regions, coinciding with the designations of Presiding Elders and the churches that are located in their areas. In alignment with the GMC philosophy of the local church as the front-line ministry and keeping denominational bodies lean, our goal is not to recreate additional organizations to meet disaster needs. Instead, we intend to leverage established response networks to the maximum extent possible. We will function as a coordinating body to allow the VA GMC to respond across the spectrum of disaster response needs including prayer, funds, requested supplies and volunteers.
We are currently collecting “Best Practices” for disaster response and preparedness to report to the Conference leadership to aid in the development of a policy/handbook that can be issues to churches and ministries interested in joining the work of our Disaster Response Team. Part of that policy will define our primary sphere of coverage as the Virginia Conference, our sister conference – The Central African Republic – then the larger US. It will also eventually include a method for providing a central database of people and churches in the VA Conference with a heart for disaster response that includes specific support capabilities available in and to our local churches.
Finally, as our Disaster Response group grows, we will develop a method of assessing needs, submitting them for leadership approval, 
and disseminating vital information about impacted areas and necessary resources. And we will have a protocol in place for connecting our people to the larger coordinating body of the GMC Disaster Recovery Group should a Virginia-based response be conducted under the guidance and coordination of the larger body.
We are building a team that welcomes all Global Methodists in the Virginia conference to be part of expanding the kingdom through concrete assistance in times of sudden distress and despair that come with disasters. Through your generosity of time, money, and prayer, since September of 2024 we have already raised funds to aid Hurricane Helene and Milton victims, especially those in Western North Carolina, and for the L.A. wildfires. We are humbled and blessed to serve with you as we continue to stand up this team.
You can meet us at our Annual Conference, May 29 -31, 2025, where we will make a summary presentation of the goals, plans, and progress of our Conference Disaster Response Team organization as well as an overview of current needs and responses across the GMC. If you are interested in being part of our steering team, joining our response network, sharing your own experiences, or hearing more about what is happening in Disaster Response here in Virginia and around the GMC connection you can:
If you are looking to be part of our steering team, please include your areas of experience and how you are willing to serve.
Blessings to all Disaster victims and responders.
John and Phil