by Jeff Daukas
4.6 million first responders serve faithfully in the United States currently. These are men and women from law enforcement, fire service, and first-line medical professionals. Every day we shoulder the burdens, heartaches, and trauma of so many other people while asking for nothing in return. Many of our nation's first responders and their families feel alone and without hope because of that direct and vicarious trauma exposure. We face unimaginable tragedy, darkness, and spiritual warfare daily. It's no wonder a majority of these people struggle to live mission first for Christ!
Mission First Alliance
Jeremy Wade, a former Seattle police officer, was burdened with this despair as he worked through the terror first responders lived through in 2020, ultimately being led in faith by the Lord to retire and move to Tennessee to work on developing a collaboration for all first responders to find hope in Christ and not be alone. Enter Mission First Alliance.
Mission First Alliance is building a national gospel-focused first responder alliance to end the isolation and hopelessness in the first responder culture. It brings ministry leaders, chaplains, church leaders, first responders, and individuals together uniting to provide support, resources, and prayer.
Ways to Engage and Help
I serve as the Southwest Regional Representative for the Alliance. I have the opportunity and privilege to speak with officers, detectives, supervisors, and church leaders across Arizona about how to help support first responders in what Jeremy accurately calls the greatest unseen mission field in our country today.
How can you help? Here's a fact you may never have heard of or thought about before... 7 out of 10 people in church on Sunday in Anytown, USA are entering a crisis situation, in the middle of a crisis situation, or coming out of a crisis situation. As an Elder I have conversations with people in this cycle all the time. Consider: first responders endure somewhere around 800-1000 critical incidents in their lifetime compared to others outside of that group experiencing on average 2-3 incidents in totality.
What happens when first responders go through these situations?
First responders, take law enforcement for example, can handle on shift a shooting, a fatal traffic accident, a foot pursuit against a bad guy, and two or three exposures to people dying due to medical causes.
We call that Monday. And then we roll into the rest of the week the same way without ever defusing that stress and pain.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is the true fortress of hope against this type of pain. But the damage in our culture of pride destroys self-reflection in a healthy way to admit that there are tough things we go through! That's where the Alliance steps in!
Click the button below which leads to the website and sign up to join. This costs you nothing! You can sign up and be a prayer partner and look for ways to help the men and women would quite literally give their lives for you each day.
Lastly, BE INTENTIONAL in looking in your churches, events with kids, or anywhere and consider the men and women around you as first responders not on duty. Introduce yourself and be supportive. One of the most reassuring things to me is when someone in my church comes up and asks how they can help me knowing how challenging my job can be.
Ultimately, the Alliance sets you with an international cohort of people (members in Canada and Australia currently) whose primary desire is to show the love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the 4.6 million first responders nationwide. Please, open your eyes to see this group of people and join me in supporting in prayer, encouragement, and relationships. Individuals begin to understand our culture, more communities are impacted because Hope is shared, and the Hope of Christ transforms the hearts and identities of first responders everywhere!
Join me today!
For Him,
- Elder Jeff
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