Growing the Kingdom

This weekend we will welcome former members of Forest Park Baptist Church as they hold a reunion on the grounds adjacent to Forest Park Ministry Center.  We are so grateful for the foresight of this body of Christ to provide the facility for the ministry center, to help support the ministries there through the years, and most recently, to fund with the proceeds from the sale of their church building so many much needed improvements to the ministry center building.  We hope that, as they tour the center on Saturday, each person will be assured that their investment in the center is indeed an eternal investment in missions that will grow God’s Kingdom.

            Speaking of growing God’s Kingdom, it was a joy and privilege to witness the dedication of a precious toddler by his mother as he was presented to the church on Mother’s Day, just two weeks after she professed her faith in Christ and was baptized before that same body.  As she continues to be mentored through ministries at the center and discipled through Bible study in her church, I marvel at her spiritual growth.

            This summer, two young college women with a passion for the Lord and for missions have joined us as Summer Missionaries.  Charlotte Walker from Autauga County, a student at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS, and Jordan Holley from Montgomery, a student at AUM, will be assisting both at Forest Park Ministry Center and at Community of Hope with child care, children’s Bible study and literacy events,  sports outreach events and Backyard Bible Clubs.  They have a very full summer ahead, and are pumped about it!  Several churches have asked them to share on Wednesday nights with their youth about missions opportunities at Forest Park, but there are a couple of Wednesdays still available.  If you would like them to share with a group at your church, please call us at the center 269-5726 on Monday or Wednesday morning (they will be “out and about” doing ministry otherwise!) so that we can schedule it.

            Please continue to pray for the guests who visit the ministry center.  As the summer progresses, numbers of guests increase, and especially while children are out of school and reduced / free lunches not available, food shortage is even more dire than at other times.   In May, we saw over 130 families, helping about 350 family members, distributing nearly two tons of food.  The M&M’s Bible Café, a Bible study for young moms and mentors, continues each week and many more literacy, sports, and outreach events have been planned and are being implemented for the summer.  Stay tuned for details about the summer, and for details about a Fall Open House so that everyone can see the growth and progress happening here!  

God is So Good!

     April was a month of rejoicing and a month of introspection.  At a time when we were placing special emphasis on the celebration of our Savior’s resurrection, God provided both bounties of blessings and grave reminders of the depravity and need of the human condition. 

     A 50% increase over the previous month in the number of families served through food, clothing, and /or financial assistance has been a sobering reminder that, in Jesus’ words, “The poor will always be among us.”  We are exhorted over and over in scripture to be aware of the needs of others and willing to clothe, feed, and encourage in Christ.  April was a powerful illustration of such need.  If you are spring cleaning, please remember Forest Park Ministry Center to donate clothing – any sizes, styles, or season.  Also, we are always in need of food; as the months progress and summer nears, families who depend on free or reduced breakfast and lunch for their children’s nutrition will be all the more in need of food.  Historically, numbers of families increase greatly during the summer and fall.  We are in special need of canned meals (pastas, soups, stews), varied vegetables, canned meats.  Don’t forget – if you are a gardener, you can tithe your produce!

     In addition to celebrating Christ’s resurrection, we celebrate this month because of God’s provision in numerous areas.  Food drives have kept us supplied with food, Heritage hosted a beautiful Layette Baby Shower, following a winter Layette Baby Shower that Thorington Road had hosted.  Rise Up 2012 (did you see it on YouTube?) resulted in 600 pairs of new shoes donated to 11 ministries locally and throughout the state and abroad.  Forest Park was the blessed recipient of several dozen pair, and already there are those with no car who walk everywhere, those who needed shoes for school and work, reaping the benefit of such generosity.

     And the week following Resurrection Sunday, one of our moms being mentored first through the Layette Ministry and now through M&M Bible Café each week prayed to receive Christ.  She was baptized last week, has already attended a class for parents desiring to raise their children in the Lord, and plans to dedicate her one year old son along with other parents on Mother’s Day.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

     This summer, in addition to the food and clothing ministry and classes which meet at the center, there will be a number of children’s opportunities.  We are blessed to have two student missionaries joining us for the summer.  Jordan Holley of Montgomery, an active member of the Baptist Campus Ministry at AUM, and Charlotte Walker from Boone’s Chapel, a student majoring in social work at Mississippi College, will be planning and implementing a number of opportunities including Bible studies, literacy, and sports camps, and will be contacting youth groups in MBA churches to recruit teams to assist each week.  Please pray for these young women as they give of themselves and their talents this summer to community missions and ministry.

                                                                                   Blessings along the way,

                                                                                   Donna McCullough, Director

                                                                                   Forest Park Ministry Center

Springing Forward...........

     Do you love this time of year?  I do, because everything feels so fresh and new.  From the gentle green sprigs of new growth of asparagus in the ministry center garden to the bright new colors of the first azalea blooms in the front yard, God points us to His design for new life in His creation. I pray that each of you, as we continue to celebrate Christ's resurrection, experiences a renewed sense of His purpose for your life!
     New life - changing the old worn out life that isn't "workin' for ya" to God's design for His people, a life abundant with the knowledge and joy of His protection, His guidance, His everlasting love - that is what doing missions at Forest Park Ministry Center is all about.  We are so grateful for God's people with vision for missions who plug into Forest Park Ministry Center.  There are fifteen MBA churches who specifically sponsor the ministry center - Cloverdale Baptist, Dalraida Baptist, Eastdale Baptist, Eastern Hills Baptist, Eastmont Baptist, Heritage Baptist, Hunter Station Baptist, Lakeview Baptist, Lapine Baptist, Mt. Zion Baptist, Southlawn Baptist, St. James / Holt Crossing Baptist, Thorington Road Baptist, Trinity Memorial Baptist, and Westside Baptist.  These churches provide food for the food pantry, and several have members who volunteer during each week to assist guests who come for food and clothing assistance, teach classes, or visit guests with special needs.  Members of these churches and many other churches in our association and in our community donate clothing and household items that we are able to provide to those in need.  Each gift, each labor of love, is a beautiful expression of God's love and of your desire to be His hands and feet to those in need.
     Increasing numbers of families reaching out to the center for help; ministry partners who use "out of the box" methods to reach people for Christ; seeing a precious young mom turn her life over to Christ; God's provision for help to see that the ministry to children this summer continues and thrives; I am frankly overwhelmed (But I shouldn't be.  After all, we serve a mighty God!) and so pumped to see what the future holds.  Please continue to pray for wisdom, that we will be open to God's leading in the days and months ahead.
Joyfully serving,
Donna McCullough, Director
Forest Park Ministry Center