Churches large and small throughout Central Texas and across the country are finding ways to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

In Mississippi, church and volunteer groups are pitching in.

Baptist volunteers from around the nation filled a Gulfport church parking lot to give away food, water, diapers and other supplies.

One woman who brought her twin daughters says she doesn't know what the family would have done without the help.

She says the apartment they're staying in lost its roof, and what's left of their belongings were covered in debris.

She says the volunteers gave them hot food and clean blankets.

A church volunteer who lost everything says volunteering makes her feel like she has everything.

In Aliso Viejo, Calif, a former pastor and his wife say they'll write $1,000 checks to the first 50 small churches (one in each state) that ask them for money to invest in projects to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Leesa Bellesi, wife of former California pastor Denny Bellesi, says church recipients must promise to give the money to their parishioners, who in turn must multiply it to donate to people affected by the deadly hurricane.

She says the donation is based on an experiment her husband conducted five years ago.

In 2000, Denny Bellesi gave $100 bills to 100 members of his church to use for good deeds.

She says that in three months, they turned that $10,000 into $1 million including the creation of a domestic violence shelter that operates to this day.

In Sioux Falls, S.D. Christian concertgoers a thousand miles from New Orleans have contributed to hurricane relief efforts.

This past weekend's eighth annual LifeLight Christian festival near Sioux Falls attracted 275,000 people, about 35,000 more than last year.

Organizers say the festival raised about $40,000 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Some of the 583 Hurricane Katrina evacuees who've been moved to Utah have asked for Bibles, so the Episcopal Diocese of Utah has arranged for 300 copies of the New International Version to be delivered to the National Guard's Camp Williams at no cost.

Episcopal priests and trained lay leaders also have joined the ranks of chaplains attending to the religious needs of evacuees.

Officials shut down Utah's hurricane assistance hot line numbers after 7,000 people called to offer aid to evacuees who've been taken there.

Steven Curtis Chapman says he and other Christian musicians are considering ways to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Chapman says he and his wife would like to match the contributions of others through their Shaohannah's Hope foundation, and he's looking into whether the foundation could help find adoptive homes for children orphaned by the killer storm.

Chapman says he's also looking into ways to perform for evacuees, take part in a relief concert with other Christian artists or take up collections during his upcoming Christmas tour with MercyMe.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: HURRICANE ASSISTANCE WEB SITES

Click Here For Letter Of Hope Web Site To Send Letters To Displaced Hurricane Survivors

Click Here For More Information About Waco Shelter Plans And Resources

Click Here For More Information About Killeen Shelter Plans And Resources

Click Here For More Information About Temple Shelter Plans And Resources

Click Here For OneStar Foundation Web Site

Click Here For Habitat For Humanity Web Site

Click Here For Houston Katrina Fund Web Site

Click Here For Information On Disaster Relief Appeals From The Better Business Bureau

Click Here For Reports On National Charities From The Better Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance

Click Here For Charity Tips From FEMA

Click Here For American Red Cross Web Site

Click Here For Salvation Army Web Site

Click Here For Second Harvest Web Site

Click Here For Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund Raising Campaign Web Site

Click Here For Catholic Charities Web Site

Click Here For Lutheran Disaster Response Web Site
Click Here For Lutheran Social Services Of The South Web Site

Click Here For National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Web Site

Click Here For United Methodist Committee On Relief

Click Here For Episcopal Relief & Development Web Site

Click Here For Information On Southern Baptist Relief Efforts

HURRICANE INFORMATION RESOURCES

Click Here For Texas Work Force Commission Web Site

Click Here For Hurricane Relief Information From U.S. Department Of Labor

Click Here For Texas Health And Human Services Commission Web Site

Click Here For Texas Education Agency Web Site

Click Here For GulfCoastPhotoFreeway.Com Missing Persons Web Site

Click Here For Katrina Shelter Web Site

Click Here For Missing Kids Web Site

Click Here For Hurricane Refugee Contact Web Site

Click Here For WWL-TV Survivors Web Forum

Click Here For Petfinder.Com to find temporary shelter for pets or to register description of missing pets

Click Here For Humane Society Of the United States Web Site

Click Here For National Hurricane Center Web Site

Click Here For National Weather Service Web Site

Click Here For Hydrologic Information Center For Information On River Flooding

Click Here For Federal Emergency Management Agency Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Homeland Security Web Site

Click Here For City Of New Orleans Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Governor’s Web Site

Click Here For State Of Mississippi Web Site

Click Here For Mississippi Emergency Management Web Site

Click Here For Alabama Governor’s Web Site