Generation to Generation

What a wonder to see my son holding his newborn son! It stirs an emotion in me that reminds me of God's goodness and the miracle of His creation. A new grandchild, two weeks old yesterday, and he is just adorable! He is a reminder of how God has such a perfect design for His grace and goodness to extend from generation to generation.

God's grace and goodness from generation to generation - a passionate desire of those who minister through Forest Park to see in the lives of guests of the center and their families. Please allow me to share some hopeful stories with you.

"Amy" is a young student at a local school where our volunteers tutor. Her family has recently experienced a tragedy in the near death of her father. Thankfully, he will recover; but for weeks, we could not put our finger on what was causing such a gloomy disposition in this ordinarily happy and jubilant child. Prayer for her and her family prior to entering the school and showing her specific concern about what she needed to concentrate on and learn - in other words, just knowing someone cares about her - is showing results. Today, she smiled and even asked to work on a new area that needs improvement!

C. is just one of many mothers who are desperately praying for their children to resist the temptation of the streets. Even for Christian families, the pressures that are present in the everyday lives of children and adults alike are intense, and for children in poverty, the presence of criminal activity in stressed neighborhoods is a constant concern for their parents. Pray for parents like C who are striving to show their children Christ's way, and to break the cycle of unhealthy and sinful choices.

Here's more hope: a local group of concerned Christians is cooperatively working on a community garden in Montgomery - on the corner of Holt and Emerson Streets. This will be a valuable tool to both demonstrate and encourage growing and eating healthy foods, and also to foster cooperation among people in a constructive project. And when they ask, "Why would you do this for us?", the answer is, "Because Christ's love compels us to."

And COMPLETE - an awesome experience that I was so blessed to be a part of, showed me that there are young women in the youth generation that have a passion for Christ and sharing His love with others. Thank you, girls, for allowing me to be blessed by you during COMPLETE.

This summer, Forest Park Ministry Center will be abuzz with activity in addition to the twice weekly food and clothing assistance. Each week, "Summer Stories from the Porch" will feature a great story told and fun related activities for the children in the neighborhood. Also each week, Mixtec Moms who want to learn Conversational English will have classes being taught by church members who have been trained specifically for that purpose. In addition, a Mission Serve team is coming to the center in July to construct the addition to the center so direly needed! God is so good, and we are relying on Him to provide the materials needed - we have enough for phase I, and are looking now to raise funds for the interior phase.

A summary of the work in March 2010: 109 guests of the center, representing 252 family members, but only 17% new guests. One guest had a very dire need, and thanks to two of our MBA churches, her family was able to have a funeral for their infant that passed away unexpectedly. Nearly 1.5 tons of food was distributed, and even more importantly, prayers were lifted on behalf of those who visited. It was a great time in the Lord, and April is looking great, too! Keep praying for these families, and for Christ's hope of Abundant Life to be realized in the hearts and minds of families everywhere.

Finally, please put on your calendars a fundraiser for MissionServe. The date is November 9, and you will receive a wonderful dinner, information and testimony about this incredible organization. MissionServe is the group coming to Forest Park Ministry Center to construct the addition to the center, along with members of MBA churches. The event on November 9 will be at Mt. Hebron West Baptist Church in Elmore County. Hope to see you there!

God Moments

I have a dear friend who is in community ministry that is so sensitive to those times when God is working. She calls these God moments, and she has pointed me to an awareness of those times when you can only say, Ah, God; He's sooooo gooooood. This month we experienced some of those times - like the day when I arrived at the center after a long day of being alongside my husband having an outpatient medical test - I mean, you know how long you wait for those things, right? But just as I arrived, two expectant mothers - one who came to the center and another who called to talk - were needing that someone to talk to, to encourage them, to pray with them. God just takes my weariness and shows me His grace. I am humbled to be witness to His work.
Earlier this month, students from Lee High School collected food and youth from Eastmont delivered it to the center. What a joy to see youth reaching beyond themselves! ACA did the same - and a teen from ACA and Heritage is volunteering at the center, too, along with other teens that will be coming this summer.
Just this week, the G.A.s from Snowden Baptist came to the center to help sort and label cans with Bible verses. Earlier, they had made Valentine boxes for a young family whose children would not have had Valentines for school otherwise, and before that, had purchased and assembled items for a layette for a newborn baby. How sweet that these young ladies have caught a missions vision; and a huge thank you to their leader, Tammy Rolling, who has such a heart for missions.

JANUARY 2010 UPDATE OF MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES

After a phenomenal December of ministry, partnering with other ministry centers in town, January 2010 has already proven that God is in the life changing business. We need to all get on board with what He is doing!

Doors have opened in several churches, giving me the awesome opportunity to share about the way God is moving in Montgomery. On the very first Sunday in January, a Sunday School class at Heritage invited me to share with them how they could "plug into" the ministry on an ongoing basis. Armed with my "laundry list of opportunities", I listened to their chatter prior to the beginning of our time together. And as the time came for me to share, I was struck with this Truth - relationship, with the Lord, and through Him, with others, is what it is all about. You see, they had "adopted a family for Christmas", a generous and lovely gesture for any one, but in the process, found that they want to do more. They asked me if it would be "Okay" to provide for the family a food box each month, and to make at least one monthly visit to the family. What a phenomenal way to capture the spirit of the great commission - to foster a relationship with a family in need! My laundry list was totally unnecessary - this group of people had been sensitive to the Lord's moving, and they were ready to join Him in what He is doing. That, you see, is what community ministry, is all about.
Here's a vision for us all to pray about: what if, in every Christian church in Montgomery, multiple people or groups of people caught this same vision - Christians mentoring others, developing relationships in order to share Christ's love and hope with people who are living in such dire need? What an impact for Christ's Kingdom would be made!

Thank you: Heritage SS, Youth, and Heritage CDC; Eastern Hills Mentors;
Thorington Road Senior Adults; Prattville FBC Youth, for your interest in the work at Forest Park Ministry Center, for your hard work and generous spirits, and for the joy of working alongside you and other MBA churches who share the vision of leading Montgomerians to a life change through Christ.

Here are some of the statistics for January 2010:

127 guests visited the center; over 40% were new guests who had not sought help before.

2 families who experienced the loss of everything when their homes burned were helped with food, clothing, household supplies, and partnering with other ministries and church members, furniture and so much more!!

Over 3,000 pounds of food were distributed to hungry families.

Best of all, one more child of God added to His Kingdom - praise the Lord!!

Finally, do you love to go to yard sales? Would you like to be a "Yard Sale Ambassador" for the center? You would be equipped with receipts to give to those who will donate their left over clothing to the center. Just ask them if they will do so, return to their home at the end of the sale, give them the receipt for their tax records, and bring their clothing to the center on Monday. What an asset this would be to both the emergency clothing and to the Good Samaritan Clothing Ministry at the center!

God bless you all. Have a great 2010; I am excited to see what the Lord has in store!

Serving joyfully,
Donna McCullough, Director
Forest Park Ministry Center