Family and Fun

Saturday was one of the coolest day’s that I have every been able to experience and be apart of! At Ridge church we signed the lease on our first 24/7 facility and less than 12 hours later we had created a Christmas store for 14 families from Piney Grove. This year we have chosen to serve and partner with the Piney Grove Elementary community to make a lasting difference and show Jesus’ love. This Christmas store is just one of the ways Ridge Church wants to bless this community by providing Christmas for families. We received the wish list and list of needs from 14 families in this school that are facing tough times this year. With the Christmas store set up parents were able to come do their own shopping and this would allow them to be the heroes in their home not Ridge Church.

Saturday morning was the first day the store would be open for the parents to come enjoy this red carpet shopping experience. We had no way of knowing the impact this would have on these parents and we were left speechless and yes full of tears. We heard some heart breaking stories that will now be filled with hope this season. These were not just families that were struggling but families that are in desperate need! A mother that had be sexually abused, a single mom of 3 whose husband died a couple years ago, a teenage daughter who has to raise 2 elementary age children, and a grandma of 4 who received chemo moments before she came shopping and she just told the children that they were not going to be celebrating Christmas this year because they had no money for gifts or decorations. The one story that I can’t get out of my mind is this one of a foster mom trying to help the real mom get established with her children. 

I had the opportunity of hosting these two ladies on Saturday, the mom and foster mom. We had bought toys, shoes, coats, pi’s, underwear, socks, blankets, sheets, and a lot more for this family. The foster mom shared with us on the families wish list that was sent home of her desire to help this mom since she has just moved into her own apartment, so we bought somethings for the mom too. When we brought out the multiple bags full of gifts they were in amazement and the tears rolled down their face. They could not believe all of this. The mothers thought that they were just going to get a few little toys for the kids not bags of gifts for the whole family. After they had time to look at all of the gifts I told them that I we had one more gift for them. I took them over to these boxes and said, “you told us that your kids needed a bed to sleep on so…” The foster mom said, “NOOO WAAYYYY! You did not get some beds?!?!” I said, ” we actually got you brand new beds from Ikea with new mattresses, mattresses covers, and down comforters.” ** And a side note, a family in our church felt like the Lord was telling them to go buy some beds when they heard about the store. How cool is it when people are obedient to His leading!** The two mom’s began crying, hugging me and each other, and yelling over and over, “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” It was like an episode of Opera’s Favorite things giveaway. The foster mom told me that this would definitely be the best Christmas that these 2 children will have ever had.

This day was about two things: blessing families that needed it and providing a way for the people of Ridge to be generous and serve together. Mission accomplished, no wait mission exceeded! We have one more day of the Unexpected Christmas Store this coming Saturday so please be praying for Ridge Church and the 9 families that will come shopping.

Proverbs 11:25, A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

serve·ice: noun /ˈsərvis/ services, plural / serving, verb
The action of helping, assisting, or doing for someone

When I think about the “church”, God’s people, I think that this should be one of the main pillars of who we are and what we are doing. Serving those around us, those in our world, country, city, and especially in our community. Doing for others, giving of our resources, spending our time investing, using who we are and what we have for the purpose of loving on those that are not in the church and those who are just in need! I think about that popular section of scripture in the beginning of the book of Acts where Jesus says,”…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:7b

Let us get started right where we are, our Jerusalem, with the people in our community. I feel like for years and even the past generations we have been talking about what needs to be done and now is the time to do! Church, let us be bothered by the things that bother our heavenly Father and do something about it. Let us be the Gospel in action and take steps to make a difference ! This is where this passion for serving our community has come from in me and Ridge Church. We looked at the community around Piney Grove Elementary School and said something has to happen. We were bothered with the drugs, gangs, poverty, low test scores, challenges, and homelessness of families that is growing just 3 miles from our church. We got together and said that we were not ok that this and something has to change! This something we knew that was going to have to start with the “church”. Ridge decided that we were going to take our time, energy, resources, and volunteers and try to make a difference among this community. As we began making plans and putting it into action we found that others had this same passion but just needed the opportunity to do “something”. As a result we have partnered with 2 other churches in our community to make a lasting difference in the Piney Grove neighborhood. And so, we began by providing book bags and school supplies for the families that would not be able to do this for them self. This seems small but we believe that this first step has truly made a huge impact on families in this community. And the exciting part of is that this is only the beginning!

If we are not making an impact for Jesus in our community, city, and so forth are we really His Church? Are we fulfilling His purpose for our lives? Where can we start? What needs are there? What resources and opportunities has God given us to use to make a real difference?

We are created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) for His glory! Serving is fun,satisfying, and sometimes serving can even bring a sense of meaning to this life! Try it and see what can happen in your community.