Eight Days of Hope began in the days following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Steve Tybor and a few others planned on helping someone in South Mississippi with damage from the storm.
Tybor recalls a conversation with his father that, unknowingly, led to the birth of the ministry.
“I think it would be great if you and I could find a couple buddies and maybe help somebody out, maybe help them rebuild their home, maybe a widow an elderly couple, maybe a single mom. But you find two or three guys, I'll find two or three guys, and we'll meet in Mississippi and drive down and just see how the Lord leads us," Tybor’s father said.
What began with a few individuals turned into multiple trips with many people, all of them volunteers who, over the course of eight days, helped families rebuild their homes for free.
Today, thanks to donations, volunteers, and prayers, Eight Days has four arms of what is now a national ministry: Rapid response, rebuilding, mass feeding, and homes for victims of sex trafficking. The Safe Harbor homes complex in Ohio is shown above.
The growth is not slowing down.
"We are going to be doubling the size of the ministry over the next 3 years," Tybor told AFN. "God has been moving through this ministry. It's been fun just to watch, to have a seat at the table, of watching Him move."
In the 20 years since Katrina, Eight Days has led 63,000 volunteers and done about $96 million of work, all in the name of Jesus.
"It's been an amazing 20 years, but we're equally excited for the next 20 years."
