February, 2009, in the midst of Australia’s worst ever bushfire disaster, Jan Graham asked the question: “What can I do to help?”
February, 2009, in the midst of Australia’s worst ever bushfire disaster, Jan Graham asked the question: “What can I do to help?” She had no idea that this question would lead her and her husband, John, into three years of intense relief work, helping survivors of the Black Saturday Fires.
This is not another bushfire story, though that is the setting. This is a story about how a local church and community responded in the face of crisis, and it asks the question, are there still fires burning today? What trauma and pain in our society is right on our doorstep, and can the church and community still respond, as it did back in 2009?
I read Hell on the Doorstep in one sitting. I found it incredibly moving as the authors shared the devastating tragedy of the Victorian Black Saturday Bushfires – 173 lives lost and numerous families left scarred and broken. I appreciated the vulnerability and frankness in which John and Jan Graham shared their own journey, not just through the immediacy of the tragedy but in the many months afterwards when the smoke and fire had gone. The insight and wisdom they shared provides essential lessons for anyone who finds themselves ministering to those in crisis. The book finishes with a poignant challenge from editor Meredith Resce – that all of us be moved to practical and loving action; that all of us respond with a ‘yes’ to the mess.
— Jon Cathie
Senior Pastor, Capital Edge Community Church, Canberra
Author of Reflections from Gallipoli.
Hell on the Doorstep is the compelling true story of a couple who lived in the community that suffered through the horrifying ordeal of the Black Saturday Bushfires. I was captured by the raw emotion that John and Jan Graham describe as they tell of their experiences as relief workers. I was inspired by the courage and resilience depicted, that is often found in times of human tragedy. This story of collective support from the community in times of adversity will remind readers that: alone we can do so little, but together, we can do so much.
— Pastor Zoran Paunovich
Vice President, Planetshakers College, Melbourne
Author of In Your Dreams.
I found myself riding a roller coaster of emotions as I read the true-life story of Hell on the Doorstep. I felt I walked every step with these incredible people as I listened to the heartache and pain of such horror. Nobody can ever be fully prepared for such a tragedy. Hell on the Doorstep gave me a glimpse into the lives of everyday people who are carrying grief and trauma from life’s circumstances. But as I read I also sensed hope in the face of hopelessness. There are people who are ready to help in time of great need. This book has given me a greater awareness that the church isn’t just a Sunday only thing–church is every day of the week, reaching out and lifting people up from their ashes.
— Pastor Nikki Rucci
River City Family Church, Brisbane
