New Orleans Ministry Rejuvenated in Katrina's Aftermath
by Allie Martin
August 29, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A former NFL quarterback has hosted a time of prayer and thanksgiving on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Earlier today, people gathered in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward at the former ministry and school headquarters of Desire Street Ministries and Desire Street Academy. The ministry was founded in 1990 by Mo Leverett, a pastor, musician, and missionary who wanted to reach out to children in the area.
Danny Wuerffel, former quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, is executive director of the ministry, which was devastated when Katrina hit. Wuerffel says the ministry has been able to continue in the aftermath of the storm, which virtually wiped out the ministry's school for urban youth, pediatric clinic, and various other programs.
"There have just been so many obstacles along the way that seemed insurmountable, and it seemed like God just triumphed over one after the other and opened up doors," says Wuerffel, who won the Heisman Trophy while at the University of Florida. "Our school started up within a month after the storm as a boarding school in Florida. We were in a financial position where we were really struggling right before the storm, and through the storm we were able really to continue."
After Katrina, the ministry's administrative offices relocated temporarily to Destin, Florida -- but according to Wuerffel, the move increased an awareness of urban ministries.
"Our mission has been to replicate our ministry in other neighborhoods, and there's been a lot of exposure to the issues in other cities and also what we're doing," he explains. "So I think that's been positive."
And for the accomplished athlete? "Personally, I've never been more exhausted or fatigued mentally, physically, and emotionally," he shares. "But at the same time I've never been more spiritually alive and spiritually dependent on Christ as I have this past year."
Wuerffel commutes regularly to Desire Street Ministries' locations throughout the South.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
