stronger, together - back2school 2013

One of my favorite events of our year is back2school, and this year is set to be the biggest and farthest reaching.  back2school outreach events helps school age students prepare for the school year by giving them items they need.  This includes backpacks filled with school supplies, gently used clothes, haircuts and brand new shoes and socks.  Each child has their feet washed as a volunteer talks to the student about their future, about having hope and prays with them.  This is an incredible event.

There are several pieces that blow me away.  I’d like to take a few paragraphs to share with you my philosophy of working together as a group of Jesus followers.  This is about amplifying our similarities and minimizing our differences.  This is about making sure that Jesus is the main reason for what we do.

Titus 2:6  NLT

In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely.

First, focus on making a difference together.  This year there are six churches from a few different communities choosing to work together so students and their families hear the good news about Jesus.

Second, join forces to do together what we can’t do alone.  To reach as many students as we have a goal to reach we need lots of volunteers and lots of resources to pull this off.  None of our churches on our own will do as much as we can do together.

Third, support, encourage, push and empower each other.  This happens because we are a team.  People from Baptist backgrounds, church of God, Pentecostal and more all coming together for a great cause of making Jesus famous to a bunch of kids that have the potential to make a huge difference in our world in the days to come.

We focus on making a difference together all the while empowering each other to go further, to do more and to do what God called us to do!  For this I am so grateful.  I am grateful for the leaders of each church and for the teams of people who will give their time and their hearts to make this event a great success.  Everyone is needed.  All kinds of skills are needed.  Loads of resources have to be gathered.

You can help too.  You can help by praying.  Pray that God would send us 3,100 students and families that need this help.  Pray for the churches, leaders and resources to all come together.  You can help by giving.  Give clothes and especially small kid’s clothes.  They are to be brought to any of the churches.  Even if you live a long way away, you can help with this.  You can give money.  It costs about $20 per student to make this happen.  That is over $55,000 needed.  You can give.  Last, you can volunteer your time.  Volunteers are needed now to make call, run errands, gather items and do more.  Volunteers are needed for registration and the pack the bus events taking place in mid July.  Volunteers are needed the week of the event to put it all together and the day of the event to serve all these students.

Contact me by calling our church by calling 276-647-8231 or by emailing info@thecommunityfellowship.org.  Your help will make back2school 2013 a huge success and impact thousands of lives.

What drives me is the difference we are making as we are stronger together.  We are speaking in to the lives of people inside and outside of our churches as God has given each person great potential to live extraordinary lives.  Join me and many others as we make a difference together!

1 John 3:18  NLT

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.