Day 4 - SAVING SOULS FROM THE WINTER COLD AT NEW MOUNT ROSE: When the death toll rises, the Church must rise higher.

SAVING SOULS FROM THE WINTER COLD AT NEW MOUNT ROSE. James 2:17 -When the death toll rises, the Church must rise higher. Link: https://youtu.be/j2rkVokYDOs?feature=shared

FORT WORTH, TEXAS As headlines continue to report the growing death toll from the January 2026 winter storm — nearly 30 lives lost nationwide due to hypothermia, power outages, icy roads, and sub-freezing wind chills — one question lingers in the cold air:

How many of those deaths could have been prevented?

Across the country, snow has blanketed cities from Arkansas to New England. Wind chills have plunged below zero. Families have gone without power. Unsheltered neighbors have faced mortal temperatures with nowhere to go.

And while the nation watches the numbers climb, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas made a decision: Church to the Street at New Mount Rose. By Nija Higgins. 

https://youtu.be/UmmUkiIjHxw

#ChurchToTheStreet

We refuse to let our neighbors become a statistic.

During the height of the storm, when temperatures dropped and wind chills cut through the night, New Mount Rose opened her doors and transformed the sanctuary into a shelter of safety — a holy refuge from deadly cold.

In a city the size of Fort Worth, only two churches opened their doors during this storm. New Mount Rose was the only church east of Interstate 35 to do so.

That matters.

Because 76104 — the zip code we serve — has the lowest life expectancy in Texas. Cold weather does not hit every zip code the same. It falls hardest on those who already live on the margins.

So we opened the doors.

Not for publicity.

Not for praise.

But to reduce the death toll — one life at a time.

Today, more than 40 unsheltered neighbors are safely inside the New Mount Rose Warming Center.

Forty-plus lives no longer exposed to sub-freezing temperatures.

Forty-plus people who will not freeze on a sidewalk tonight.

Forty-plus souls who will not become tomorrow’s headline.

This is not just a warming center.

It is a sanctuary of safety.

A harbor in the storm.

A place where bowls are filled and bodies are warmed.

Where dignity is restored and lives are protected.

While major cities scramble to expand capacity and emergency crews pull people from dangerous conditions, one local church decided preparation is better than reaction. Compassion is better than commentary. Action is better than outrage.

“There is so much the churches can do,” says Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. “We are willing to share our experience with any congregation sincerely interested in going the extra mile for the least of these.”

The question now is not whether the storm was severe.

It was.

The question is whether more churches will prepare now — before the next freeze — to ensure that fewer names are added to the death count.

Because when temperatures drop, compassion must rise.

New Mount Rose is serving the Lord with gladness — Saving Souls from the Freezing Cold — not just preaching faith, but putting faith into action.

From the Church to the Streets,

we are not watching the numbers climb.

We are working to bring them down.

To God be the Glory.