• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In

MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission Matters
          • Members Only Feed
          • Missions Podcast DirectoryNew
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
          • UkraineNew
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Bible Certificate
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Missions DataNew
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Evangelical Views on Women in Ministry & Marriage: Differences in Interpretation, Not Inspiration
            Fri May 20, 2022, 04:00 PM PDT
          • Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk
            Thu May 26 2022, 12:00pm EDT
          • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
            Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missions DataNew
          • Missiographics
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Evangelical Views on Women in Ministry & Marriage: Differences in Interpretation, Not Inspiration
    Fri May 20, 2022, 04:00 PM PDT
  • Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk
    Thu May 26 2022, 12:00pm EDT
  • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
    Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
    Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Innovation Leaders Discussion
    Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT

View all events »

Topics

author interview CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Disciple Making Discipleship Focus Future Innovation Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Member Care Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 MLC2021 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Podcast Presenter Pursuing Partnerships Series Research Risk Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached Weekly Roundup Women Women in Leadership

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

The 4 Phases in a Disaster

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Ted EslerMarch 11, 2022

Ted Esler

As the war unfolds in Ukraine, ministries are responding. It is not hard for me to imagine what is happening right now since I served in the Balkans during the 1990s.

A few years after my service in Bosnia I attended a series of consultations organized by the sending agency I served under. The globally dispersed staff had experienced both small and large-scale disasters. There were floods in Pakistan, a Tsunami in Asia, wars in Central Asia and many other disasters. During the consultation I learned several key ideas that I wish I had known when I was ministering in Bosnia.

One of the more helpful ideas is that a disaster typically has 4 phases. By understanding these, ministry leaders can better assess what they are doing, who they are doing it with, and how appropriate their response might be. The needs of each of these phases are different. Some ministries are laser focused on just one of these areas. This should lead us to deeper collaboration as we understand that our own ministries are not “omni-purpose.”

We need each other.

These were presented from an unpublished paper that was citing Eng Ho. I have edited these for broader usage. These phases overlap and geography may dictate what is happening (the situation in Ukraine right now is different than it is in Poland, for example).

Phase 1: Rescue – acute/emergency phase

Search and Rescue operations – digging for survivors under rubble after an earthquake, rescuing stranded flood and hurricane victims. Rescue personnel need to be highly trained and equipped. Typically done by the military, trained teams of specialists, local police and fire departments, and son on. There are specialized ministries which focus on this area.

Medical teams – providing acute medical care to injured people. This is specialist work and will not be conducted by the typical missionary agency. There are some equipped to assist, but most are not.

Evacuation – getting people away from the danger zone. As I write this, millions have already crossed out of Ukraine and churches have been active in helping people evacuate.

Phase 2: Relief and Refugees – providing food, water, and shelter

Massive human needs – water, shelter, food, clothing, blankets, toiletries, medical needs, sanitation, tracing relatives, trauma counseling

Relief personnel – need not have technical expertise but necessary and essential to have had some preparatory training and coordinated teamwork. Cultural sensitivities are necessary and should be a part of any preparation process.

Fundraising – Relief is massively expensive. Funding these efforts, from culturally appropriate story telling to grant writing are special skills that are needed. Money has ruined many good ministries and relief funding is prone to misuse, waste, and corruption. Special attention must be paid to the management of relief.

Phase 3: Rehabilitation and Return – helping people achieve a new normal

Establishing and providing more durable shelter, digging wells, or installing piped water supply and improved sanitation system, re-starting schools, hospitals, factories, and workplaces, creating employment, and helping people find employment. Some of these solutions will be temporary.

Requires much careful planning with local authorities, community leaders – unless long term development is brought in, such activities often result in permanence. Community health and education strategies (CHE) are common in this phase.

Phase 4: Reconstruction – extended recovery phase

Rebuilding infrastructure of community – roads, buildings, schools, hospitals, factories, community centers. International government funding is often a chief factor in the reconstruction phase.

Educational institutions begin operating again and industries provide employment and economic stability.

Application

Each of these phases requires different skills, a different mindset, and, frankly, different kinds of organizations. This is why partnership and collaboration are so important in a disaster situation.

Relief agencies are good at raising huge piles of money in short order. These kinds of resources are necessary in the early phases of the disaster. Unfortunately, they are not very good at long-term ministry within the disaster arena. Even if they do have longer-term presence, they are typically not engaged in evangelism, discipleship, or church planting. This is where long-term missionary agencies and indigenous churches are better equipped. Whereas we tend to dismiss government and civic authorities as partners, they should also be considered as valuable resources if possible.

By partnering and collaborating through the four phases, the strengths of different partners are more fully realized, people are better served, and the chance that good ministry will happen is more likely.

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsArticlesFeaturedPartnership

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Home
  • Directories
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Join

  • Join
  • Benefits
  • Learn
  • Meet
  • Engage

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

About Us

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources
Missio Nexus Logo

© Missio Nexus. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate Missio Nexus earns from qualifying purchases.


PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

Annual Sponsors

ECFA Logo Brotherhood Mutual Logo

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks