Hosanna

a storm of compassionate ministry is forming

by Pastor James Bell

When we started talking about getting involved in our community, we didn’t know it would start like this! We started talking and praying about reaching into the community and now it’s happening. We prayed and offered ourselves as the Lord’s servants, but were not sure what the next step would be. How could we help? LifePath Church invited us to partner with them at Tipps Elementary to positively impact the students schooling and home life. They also told us about an apartment ministry opportunity called “the Bridge” which offers, among other things, an after-school program.

This week there was a minor crisis because the after-school program starts Monday and the volunteers from LifePath were running behind in their efforts to get the apartment (provided to them by the management) ready in time. There was a long list of items needed and work to be done. Enter Hurricane Hosanna!

Nora got on the phone and volunteers started lining up. Several men from Hosanna helped replace the carpeted rooms with new flooring. Women from Hosanna were scurrying around getting needed items from Big Lot, Walmart, Garden Ridge, and all the “bargain” places to make sure the deadlines were met. One of our new “partner church” leaders started crying when she realized that it was all going to happen on time.

From the expertise of Marty Martin to the frantic multi-tasking of Tom Slappey, our guys, Vincent Huerta, Kevin Green, Vincent Valadez, and Ricky Goldsmith, worked hard and late with partners from LifePath to make sure everything was done well and on time. We will have people learning how this ministry works so we can help there and in other complexes as this outreach grows!

Coming soon will be more info about how we will serve Tipps Elementary. We believe what we learn from this experience will spread to other schools in our area. We are gathering volunteers for The Bridge ministry right now. Want to get involved? Here’s how:

Apartment Ministry Training will happen
This Sunday Evening, August 22nd, at Hosanna from 5 – 6 pm

The Bridge happens on
Mondays – Fridays
4:00pm – 6:30pm at:
The Lakes, 5650 TimberCreek Place Dr. #2105

Volunteer commitment is flexible: can be a one-time, once a week, once a month or on-going. All volunteers will need to attend a training session and a background check will be performed. We need Bus Greeters, Snack Preparers and Servers, Clean-uppers! Also, Worship Leaders, Play Supervisors and more! Some have volunteered to be Homework Tutors. This is a chance to impact so many individual lives.

Are you ready for Hurricane Hosanna to start blowing through? The hearts of our people are ready for ministry and the winds of the Spirit are moving across our church!

I’m loving it,

James

Tags: Apartment Ministry, Community Outreach, The Bridge

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