Natural disasters occur every year somewhere in the country. Whether floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, or ice storms, significant impacts to people’s property and lives are common. Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT) are trained to serve the needs of their neighbors and share words of comfort and hope in the midst of life’s trials.
On Monday afternoon, May 18, 2026, Auburn, Nebraska, sustained significant and widespread tree damage due to 85 mph straight-line winds. Mick Onnen, the Nebraska District Disaster Response Coordinator met with Brad Johnson, the chairman of Trinity, Auburn, to assess the damage and determined that a LERT deployment was needed. Mick explained that, “with a busy week already lined up for the week of May 18, we decided to have Brad make contact with all members of Trinity and announce our plans to be in town the week of May 25 to do homeowner assessments and start clean-up. He also lined up members of the church to house LERT members and provide meals as needed. We conducted assessments of 12 homeowners that day, then returned to Omaha where we rented an aerial lift for our work.”
Five LERT volunteers from Daykin, McCool Junction, and Norfolk joined Mick on the deployment to Auburn, and removed debris from homes, cut down broken branches from 32 trees, removed two badly damaged trees, and completed 12 other clean up jobs. The six LERT volunteers logged 154 hours of work in service to the community.
Funding for LERT disaster response comes from Nebraska District LCMS funds, with a sizable grant from LCMS Disaster Response to cover main deployment equipment and volunteer expenses. For information on making a donation in support of this work, contact Kimberly Myers at communications@ndlcms.org.
Are You Ready for Disaster in Your Community?
LERT (Lutheran Early Response Teams) training helps individuals and team members be ready to identify opportunities for service, both after disasters and in everyday life, preparing them for efficient, effective, and safe service to those impacted. They also learn the importance of Christian witness in showing mercy in the aftermath of disasters and personal hardships. LERT volunteers serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in disaster response work.
Has your congregation considered getting certified by the LCMS to respond to your hurting neighbors in the aftermath of disasters? If so, now is a great time to sign up for basic disaster response training for LERT. Nebraska District Disaster Response Coordinator Mick Onnen can help get you started. A class lasts less than 3 hours and the cost of $25 per person covers training materials, snacks, a LERT T-shirt, and disaster site ID credentials. Once you are LERT certified, you can also sign up for chainsaw training.
Questions? Contact Mick Onnen at DisasterResponse@ndlcms.org or call or text 402-364-3370. Learn more about Nebraska District disaster response at ndlcms.org/disaster-response/.