TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

        Happy New Year!   We are looking forward to what God has in store in 2013 for His ministry at Forest Park Ministry Center.  This past year has been full, and for me personally, a great challenge due to added responsibilities regarding graduate school and internship.  With these completed, however, I am excited to report to you that the outreach opportunities into the community have the potential to expand in the coming year through Forest Park Ministry Center. 

        First, I want to share some 2012 statistics with you.  1,760 guests visited the center for assistance, representing 4,277 family members who were assisted with food and / or clothing.  That translates to 46, 736 pounds of food given to families in need during the year 2012.  62 of those families received financial assistance for utilities, at least 90 of those families received baby items.  There were 15 newborn babies that we had the privilege to visit in the home, pray and talk with the mom, and present them with a layette of beautiful new necessities for the baby made possible by the groups who have so graciously supplied the layette ministry throughout the year.

        All of these statistics are “small potatoes”, though, compared to the lives that have been won for God’s Kingdom.  During 2012, 14 people prayed during their visit to receive Christ as their personal savior.  All of the statistics above pale in comparison to the fact that these souls that were lost and hopeless now know the joy and hope of faith in Christ.

        A stressful year has ended with bountiful joy as we have seen God answer prayer in several ways.  A dear friend wrote on her Facebook page about the reminder that God grows us in our trials. This is so true – and those challenges are the very venues in which His glory shines!  Friends and colleagues have had trials followed by God’s grace and blessings, and my own family has been through illness and healing as well.  And here at the center, God has raised some men who are seizing the opportunity to mentor men in the neighborhood.  Please pray for these efforts, bathed in prayer, to be rewarded with fruit for the Kingdom!

        We are so thankful for your prayerful support.  We are all a team, including each of you, carrying out the Great Commission in our community.  May each of you have a blessed 2013. 

Joyfully serving,

Donna McCullough, Director

Forest Park Ministry Center

        

Tis the Season!

        Giving.  Thinking about the season upon us.  And gratitude beyond measure for all who have given time, talents, words of encouragement, gifts, and prayer as we held the 4th annual Christmas Toy Sale for Families in Need.  It was a powerful blessing; even as the stress of logistical details loomed, there was always the reminder that something much bigger than petty details was happening.  Grace.  Joy.  Sharing Christ's love.  Lisa shared on her blog the moving story about one family.  Shirley, one of the cafe volunteers, shared the experience of visiting with a grandmother who, through tears, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to select and give gifts for her grandchildren in her custody.  140 volunteers gave to others last Saturday at the toy sale, and countless others gave toys, supplies, and baked goodies needed to make it happen.
        Every week, volunteers assist us at the center to reach others in every day ways - providing food, clothing, vouchers to shop for clothing, a listening ear, a word of encouragement, and most importantly, prayer and hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Good News.  I am so humbled to work alongside so many precious servants who desire to be the hands and feet of Christ.  I am posting a current list of the permanent volunteers, those who work voluntarily day in and day out to live out the Great Commission in our "Judea".  If you know one of these, take a moment to say thanks and ask them about their experiences.  You may be inspired and led to do the same.
        As for me, words cannot adequately express my thanks to these friends for their encouragement, for their help, and for blessing me with the example of their service.  God is good.
Blessings this Christmas season,
Donna

Giving Thanks

        It's a most wonderful time of the year.  I have just heard that song on the radio, and it reminds me that even when chaos reigns all around me, Christ's intent is for us to experience His peace in our souls.  It's a daily choice, to allow culture's disorderly array to manage our well-being and our faith life, or to allow Christ to do it.  Paul wrote to the Romans about that very thing:  "Do not change yourselves to be like people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking.  Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to Him" (Romans 12:2).  That sums up the purpose of reaching out to others with life-changing answers, not just emergency needs.  That is why, in addition to the food and clothing assistance (on Wednesday alone, we saw representatives from 65 families, each of whom received both food assistance and special provisions for Thanksgiving dinner), Forest Park Ministry Center is also offering mentoring through the Layette Ministry (in-home visits with moms and newborns), an accompanying booklet to assist them as they provide a spiritually and physically healthy environment for their children, and M&M's Bible Cafe, a weekly Bible study for moms and their mentors that meets at the ministry center.  In addition, those guests who express need for individual counseling are given the care needed to allow them to grow through distressing life situations.

         An answer to a long time prayer need is being fulfilled now - and we are praising God!  For many months, we have prayed for the opportunity to provide a venue for the young men in the neighborhood to meet and learn how to become the men and fathers that God desires and their children need.  Recently, a retired police officer visited the center and asked specifically about how he could invest himself in the ministry.  When he heard this dream, he felt led to follow through, and with the help of others that he is recruiting, will begin "Honor Begins At Home" in January, meeting each week at the center.  In addition, we are in the planning stages of another group of women with specific needs.

        God is teaching me so much about patience and waiting on Him.  As needs are becoming evident to me, I want to jump in and rescue.  But I am being taught to allow Him to bring those alongside who have passion for Him and reaching people in need.  Even in the food pantry - after such a whirlwind day on Wednesday, the pantry was BARE!  On Thursday, helpers brought food from a local school (see photos below) and on Saturday, teens came and stocked. Then on Monday, another church brought food - and none of those deliveries had been on the regular schedule!  Obviously, it was on God's, though!

        As I reflect on these and many other blessings, I also pray that each of you has a blessed Thanksgiving.  Remembering that Christ has given us the ultimate gift, let's all focus our eyes on His goodness, mercy, and grace.  I pray that we all experience this as we give thanks, and as we usher in the season to celebrate His birth.

Joyfully serving,

Donna