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As Pastor Joel Osteen and his church face mounting criticism for not immediately hosting Houstonians fleeing their homes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, representatives are speaking out to provide additional background and context.
Don Iloff, a spokesperson for Lakewood Church, told Faithwire late on Monday night that the house of worship has been in touch with city and county officials in recent days and has been planning outreach efforts.
But considering that the church’s building — inside what was once the Compaq Center sports arena — is prone to flooding, Iloff said that Lakewood chose to instead focus its energies on the ways in which the church could serve as a food and resource distribution center, among other outreach efforts.
And considering that Houston officials had set up shelters throughout the city — including a massive location at the George R. Brown Convention Center just five miles from Lakewood — Iloff said that the church had planned to host people in the event that those locations were full or at capacity.
“We had warning with this storm, so they set up shelters around the city … that convention center is 5 or 6 times bigger [than Lakewood],” he told Faithwire. “They set that up with everything from the cots, food, triage.”
A photo of the flooding that was said to be inside and outside of Lakewood Church (Lakewood Church)
Iloff also noted that, while Lakewood was more than willing to make-do and house people, unlike the convention center, Lakewood has “no showers” and no kitchen, making the church more of an emergency shelter than anything else. Initially, the church waited to hear from city officials and planned to respond if needed.
Still, Iloff continuously affirmed that the bigger issue that impacted the decision to not immediately serve as a shelter centered on the building’s history of flooding.
“The fact is that we knew that we could not put anyone on the bottom floor,” he said, noting that the first floor is where the most space exists for housing flood victims. “We were very concerned about putting anyone on that bottom floor given the history.”
And though there has been much debate on social media about whether Lakewood experienced any flooding during Hurricane Harvey, photos provided by the church — as well as Iloff’s own account — point to water creeping up the floodgates on the lower level.
“They were within a foot of cresting the floodgates … that flootgate’s 10 feet tall,” Iloff said. “It was within a foot of coming over that floodgate.”
Lakewood Church
With more rain slated to come down in Houston over this past weekend, Iloff said Lakewood didn’t want to endanger people, especially if there was enough room in the shelter system.
But he reaffirmed that church leaders did ask government officials to let them know if and when the time came for a greater need for shelter for victims impacted by the storm.
A photo of the flooding that was said to be inside Lakewood Church (Lakewood Church)
No such request had reportedly been made before controversy surrounding Osteen and the church broke out on social media and quickly went viral.
“We were on the phone with the city … they said the shelters are fine at the moment,” he said. “We basically said we can put [a few hundred] people on the second level [and the] city said, ‘We’ll get back with you.’ We are prepared to house those people.”
Controversy initially broke out after a photo was shared on Twitter that appeared to show that the church wasn’t extensively flooded, though it is unclear when that image was taken. On Sunday, Lakewood took to its Facebook page to explain that the church wouldn’t be open for services and offered up a list of available shelters.
“Dear Houstonians! Lakewood Church is inaccessible due to severe flooding!” the message read. “We want to help make sure you are safe. Please see the list below for safe shelters around our city, and please share this with those in need!”
Iloff said that the one detail being overlooked in the current narrative is that Lakewood has a “history of sheltering people,” pointing back to Tropical Storm Allison, which devastated the region back in 2001. The church, which was still in its former location and hadn’t yet moved to the arena, housed 3,000 people and became the largest shelter in the city.
It should be noted that, at the time, the Compaq Center (where Lakewood now resides) did cancel sports events in the wake of the tropical storm, with extensive flooding being reported by the Lawrence Journal-World.
So, flooding fears on the part of Osteen’s team weren’t exactly unfounded:
When Jerry McDonald arrived at the arena that’s home of the Houston Comets and the Houston Rockets, he was stunned.
Flood waters from torrential rains brought by Tropical Storm Allison had inundated the Compaq Center, where McDonald is general manager.
“The court was floating in water four feet off the ground,” McDonald said.
As for the current debate over Lakewood’s response, numerous news reports noted that some Lakewood staff members also needed to be rescued amid the chaotic flood scene.
And Iloff added another detail that he felt was important to emphasize: “The [church] doors have never been locked.”
A photo of the flooding that was said to be inside Lakewood Church (Lakewood Church)
In fact, while Iloff believes the media narrative painted a picture in which scores of people were coming to the church and being turned away, he said that, until around 2 p.m. on Monday, access to the church was difficult due to flooding and that only three people had come to the church doors thus far; those people were assisted, he said.
Lakewood Church is now working with Samaritan’s Purse and has launched a fund to raise money that will strictly be used for hurricane relief, Iloff said.
The church also plans to coordinate distribution outreaches, offering baby formula, adult diapers and other supplies to members of the public.
Iloff, who said the church was already coordinating with Samaritan’s Purse before debate broke out over the initial decision not to house people, said that he believes Lakewood Church is perfectly situated to help people in the community pick up the pieces of their life after the waters recede — and that this was always the plan.
“Where we really focus our efforts … is on the aftermath of this thing,” he said. “We’re going to be dealing with this for years to come. This is when peoples’ lives need to be put back together.”
A photo emerged on Monday evening that purported to show that the church was setting up air-mattresses. And while Iloff said he could confirm that the image was taken inside the church, he had not been able to reach the church administrator to confirm the timing or purpose of those air mattresses.
Osteen himself also released a statement on Monday, saying that the church is “prepared to shelter people.” His statement came amid reportsthat the George R. Brown Convention Center was over capacity on Monday night.
“We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need. We are prepared to shelter people once the cities and county shelters reach capacity,” he said. “Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.”
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Texas National Guard soldiers assist citizens in heavily flooded areas from the storms of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, Aug. 27, 2017. Picture taken Aug. 27, 2017. (Lt. Zachary West/U.S. Texas Military Department/Handout via REUTERS )
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"If you don't laugh, you'll cry," Lakewood Church's Senior Communications Director Don Iloff tells Charisma News while standing outside in the pouring rain in Houston.
Though the megachurch has received some flak for not opening its doors as an emergency shelter, there's virtually no access to Joel Osteen's campus, which is considered one of the largest in the country. Instead, staff and volunteers are meeting through conference calls to coordinate efforts. The church, located in Houston's inner loop, is just a few miles away from the city's largest shelter, the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Although Harvey's damage was initially labeled as a once-in-500 years flood, Iloff says it's now closer to 1-in-800.
"We are this city," he says. "When you talk about 75,000-80,000 members of the church with 45,000-50,000 showing up on any given weekend, not to mention visitors, when you talk about Lakewood, you're talking about city. It's blacks, whites, Hispanics, rich and poor, everything. It's been interesting the last several days. We've had members and staff who have been rescuers, and members and staff who have been rescued. Nothing like this has ever occurred."
More than 3,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to the state, and ministries from around the country have loaded trucks with supplies to serve the refugees.
Iloff says Lakewood's efforts will be more focused on the aftermath.
"Right now, it's hard to know how devastating it's going to be. Even FEMA doesn't know the scope until the waters recede," Iloff says. "That's really where we're going to end up make the biggest impact, and we're going to make efforts for years to come. Lakewood is currently involved in our community, and we have lot of efforts happening in an ongoing basis, like in the 5th Ward, around the city, and we're working with everyone we can imagine. Our membership is so diverse, and we work with homeless, with unwed mothers. ... We truly believe that because this is such a big deal, that this storm is a such devastating thing, our efforts are dealing with this storm in almost everything we do from this point forward at least a year, years to come."
Leading up to the hurricane-turned-tropical storm, Iloff says the media focused on division. Stories dove into the racism in Charlottesville and the aftermath as the country considered how to handle statues commemorating the Civil War Confederacy. Headlines read of free speech—or lack thereof—of intense protests over the president's actions. But in Houston, diversity breeds heroics.
In flood pictures, black men carry small white children, white women help elderly Hispanic people, Hispanic people hand out water to whoever is in need—regardless of skin color or religion.
"Maybe it's because I go to Lakewood, which is very diverse, and we love each other and focus on the greater good, which is Jesus Christ," Iloff says. "We all focus on something greater than ourselves. They don't pay attention to the differences between us because commonality is so important. Our race doesn't matter. I'm a believer, you're a believer.
"I don't know that mainstream media is missing it, and right now, I hope they focus on the heroic love and sacrifice that people are making for one another regardless of any kind of difference they may have with that other person. I hope they continue to cover this, not necessarily dividing us up. At least it's good for us, and it's really bringing about making us aware of how much more alike we are than different. You can drown no matter what your religion, your ethnicity. Water can kill us all. We all need to be saved. We are all one, and it takes these things to make people realize that. That is something good to come from this."
For those who want to pray for Houston, Iloff has two requests that boil down to one word: Strength.
"Strength is the single most important thing, the ability to endure through this and after. I think, in the aftermath, that people strengthen their faith. A lot of faith is tested right now, because the single greatest question that comes to us is, 'How did God let this happen?'" We also hear, 'Why did this happen?' 'Why do bad things happen to good people?' and other big faith questions. ... During this storm, pray for endurance, and in the aftermath, pray that our faith is strengthened, because it's up to Christians to answer these hard questions."
Jessilyn Justice is the director of online news for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor's family in Alabama, she attended Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She's passionate about sharing God's goodness through storytelling. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.
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