I am so thrilled to be a part of this church, I just have to report on a few “hero stories” that have surfaced in the last month.
Christmas for Everyone 2008
Last Sunday, I challenged our congregation to put their compassion in action in a tangible way.
Here in Lafayette, our local church and ministry association called TEAMM sponsors a program this time of year called Christmas for Everyone. It’s an incredible program. Parents register their children by filling out a form describing their clothing size and the kinds of toys they would like. Then, volunteers from local churches get those forms, spend $30 on that child, and bring the gifts in a bag to their church for “Distribution Day” where the parents come, get the gifts, and have an opportunity to “shop” tables of extra donated gifts for their kids. Then, volunteers from the church wrap the gifts while talking to the parents. It’s a great idea for an outreach.
The problem is that we missed the opportunity to be a part of the program this year, but in a way that worked out because there were 10 children that somehow got overlooked in the program.
Well, last Sunday, I challenged the people there to pick up one of those registration forms, and get some shopping done by Wednesday of this week, and do you know what happened? Within 5 minutes of the end of the service, ALL 10 FORMS WERE TAKEN, and all the gifts were purchased and delivered to the families by Wednesday!
Way to go everyone! It’s wonderful to be part of such a generous church.
Two Super Secret Santas
Now here’s something else that I’m thrilled with. In the last month, I have heard two stories of someone in need being approached by someone else in the church who just wanted to make Christmas a little better for them. In one case, it was an envelope with a gift inside, but in another case it was a whole big let-us-buy-some-presents-for-your-kids kind of thing.
People of Lafayette Community Church… You Rock! Keep up the incredible work of demonstrating the love of Christ to the people around you. 2009 will be an absolutely wonderful year for us together.
