A Southern California church has initiated a relief effort for Los Angeles wildfire victims, inviting the community to donate essential items at its five campuses.
Rock Church in San Diego, in partnership with Dream Center in L.A., is coordinating this initiative to assist residents affected by the devastating fires that have displaced tens of thousands and resulted in at least 25 fatalities.
The church has set up eight 26-foot trailers for collecting items, with one trailer at each campus in the San Diego area and three located at the Point Loma campus.
Senior Pastor Miles McPherson reported that the community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. He shared, “What amazes me is that as a pastor, it has not only been our Rock Church attendees, but the San Diego community as a whole. We originally set out to fill five trucks, and we ended up filling nine 26-foot trucks with items, which is about 90 pallets of water, diapers, wipes, new clothing, new blankets, toiletries, trail mix, and energy drinks.”
McPherson noted that the church has received substantial support, including truck donations, volunteers, and contributions of essential goods. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing donations of basic supplies, such as pasta, rice, canned goods, non-perishable food items, diapers, and pet food.
Working alongside Zoe Church and Dream Center in L.A., McPherson explained that volunteers directly distribute these items to victims and first responders.
He added, “Our partner organizations have shared with us that once we deliver the trucks with items, they will be given out immediately. They have been seeing trucks emptied and distributed to people in as little as an hour.”
The church’s commitment to these relief efforts reflects its own experiences with disasters; in 2007, Rock Church served as a triage center and provided shelter for senior citizens shortly after moving into its new building when fires struck San Diego.
Since the wildfires began earlier this month, thousands of Los Angeles residents have faced displacement, property loss, and ongoing uncertainty, as the wind-driven blazes have destroyed over 12,000 structures and scorched more than 60 square miles.
Rock Church, alongside other ministries, is working to support fire victims, including chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, who are collaborating with Samaritan's Purse to address their needs.
