I had a great conversation yesterday with some people after church. We were standing there in the entrance to the Worship Center near the Angel Tree table and they mentioned that all of the Angels had been adopted.
Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship where children of inmates receive Christmas gifts. Obviously, if a parent is incarcerated they cannot go Christmas shopping. So Prison Fellowship developed this program. Inmates enroll in the program, make a list of gifts for their kids, get that list to PF and them local organizations "adopt" the kids, Angels, and purchase those gifts in the name of the child's mother or father and then deliver the gifts to the kids before Christmas.
It is an awesome opportunity to minister to these families and it takes a lot of work on the front end. The organization, in this case Midtowne Church, must contact the care giver of the kids and make sure where they live, make sure the sizes are accurate for clothing, etc. Then the angels have to be adopted.
I was impressed when out Angel Tree Coordinator told me that she thought we should adopt more than 150 Angels. She told me that she thought we could do it. I have to admit that, once again, I was not real sure our church could do it. After all, we are a new church and have a bunch of very young Christians and a lot of "un-churched" and "de-churched" people here.
So back to the conversation with the people after church yesterday. When they told me all the Angles had been adopted, I got very excited. This was only the second Sunday that we made them available and now all of them were gone! I told the people to whom I was talking how proud I was of the people at Midtowne and their heart for ministry. It is very humbling to be a part of something like this. The people here are really catching on to this idea of ministry and just what it means to show God's love.
So What? Don't ever forget why we are here. It's not about a person, or an organzation. It's all about helping others find and experience God's Best. What will you do to show God's love to someone? How can you get in on God's Best for your life by sharing God's Best with someone else?
Midtowne People, I am proud of you and humbled to be a part of this thing called "church" with you.
2 comments:
That is Fantastic! I'm so glad to hear the news that all of the angels have been adopted...I wanted to adopt an angel but was out sick on Sunday..looks like I will be finding another way to share God's love with people this Christmas! Thank God for Midtowne, and all the wonderful people that attend. And thank God for you Doug...You so Cool 'n stuff! lol
I had the opportunity to work on the front end of the Angel Tree project when I phoned to confirm address and gift selections and clothes sizes. I got to talk to some of the caregivers of the angels, and some of the older siblings who are now adults and no longer receiving gifts. I even got to speak to some of the angels themselves as they told me what toys and clothes they wanted and needed.
As I did this, I was struck over and over by the same thought - why am caring about these kids only at Christmas? Why am I not remembering to pray for them during the rest of the year? Because I volunteered in Angel Tree, I think it will be easier to remember to care about people in prison and their families because now have names and memories of real kids in my mind to remember in prayer all year. It was a good experience and I encourage other people to volunteer if they have a chance.
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