Volunteer as a Disaster Relief Shepherd
When a person or family loses everything in a disaster, they often feel an overwhelming sense of despair. At ADRN, our primary goal is to restore hope by revealing the love of God to families impacted by disaster. We do this by offering emotional, spiritual, and physical support with the help of Disaster Relief Shepherd (DRS) teams.


DRS teams consist of trained volunteers like you who work in partnership with the Church and dedicated ADRN staff members to shepherd families through the recovery process, walking with them every step of the way until they’re back on their feet and in safe and clean homes.
Questions? Email us at shepherdsupport@adrntx.org
A Divine Calling for the Missionary Heart
Shepherds play one of the most important and rewarding roles in a family’s recovery. As they develop relationships with the families they serve, they have opportunities to share the Gospel and Christ’s love for them. In this capacity, Shepherds essentially serve as missionaries, spreading the word of God to families throughout Greater Austin.
Interested in becoming a Shepherd?
Sign up for one of our upcoming Shepherd trainings below.
Note: you don’t have to have IARBT to take DRS training, but IARBT will be required along with the background check and agreement to Statement of Faith before you can be matched with a survivor family.
Finished your training and ready to Shepherd a family?
Click the button below to sign up.
What does it mean to walk alongside a family as a Shepherd?
Meeting Emotional Needs
- Spend time with those impacted, by listening and being present during times of need
- Discuss survivors’ concerns and challenges, and help them identify solutions
- Provide encouragement, compassion, love, prayer, and support
Meeting Spiritual Needs
- Pray with survivors, inviting God into the recovery process
- Demonstrate Christ-like love through which the Gospel can be shared
- Share the hope found in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
Meeting Physical Needs
- Collaborate with survivors, ADRN shepherds and the Church to identify and meet family’s needs (i.e. food, clothing, medicine, housing, furniture, transportation, etc.)
- Help survivors access resources available through ADRN, the Church and other agencies
- Track each family’s progress, and celebrate God’s goodness throughout the duration of the recovery process (generally about 3 months)
- Provide additional support as needed (i.e. filling out forms, drive survivors to appointments, moving, etc.)
NOTE: Shepherds are NOT expected to contribute financially to a family’s recovery or be responsible for doing what a family can do for itself.