With 2018 in our rear-view mirror, it is fitting that we consider the events of that time now gone. And as Kendra and I do, there is much reason to give God praise. Not the least of which was the October wedding of our baby girl, Kelsey. To her husband, Paul, and the rest of the world she is a beautiful, grown woman of 30, but in our hearts she will always be our baby girl. In June I became an ordained minister which allowed Paul and Kelsey to extend to me the great honor and privilege of performing their wedding ceremony. Among other things Paul and Kelsey Rasp support the work and ministry of the Care Mission by managing our website, listed above. They do an outstanding job. If you haven’t already, we invite you to visit it.
During this past year we witnessed God expand our ministry. We were able to distribute 336 new Bibles and approx. 100 gently used Bibles to those we’ve served. We often take for granted our Bibles, but there are many in our community who do not have a Bible of their own. Some folks leave the mission more excited over their Bible than the food they’ve received. As well they should be.
We’ve continued to offer a Bible Study, we call it Jesus Study. Even though only a handful take part in our study, we believe it is important to offer it because there are many we serve who want to know God better, but will not likely go to church, at least not at first. To be honest I really enjoy putting the lessons together. And as anyone who’s ever taught a class can attest, I learn a lot doing so. We meet at the mission each 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 6:00 pm. All are welcome.
We mailed out roughly 1,000 prayer notes and words of encouragement to many God had put in our path. The response we receive from these simple handwritten notes is amazing. So many are hurting. So many believe no one cares. When they are reminded that Jesus loves them, many are overwhelmed. We know it is the Holy Spirit ministering to them through the words HE has given us to write. In an era of noise filled with Facebook, texting, emails, tweets, and Instagram, a handwritten note is like a still, small voice whispering “You are loved, I care.”
We also have become more intentional and consistent about making home visits to those clients God puts on our heart. We offer prayer, encouragement, fellowship, a listening ear, and communion. Again, the response has been awe-inspiring. In this busy world so many feel forgotten. They are starving to know about, or to be reminded of, a loving Christ. They are often surprised to learn that God is not above the clouds, indifferent to their plight. But, rather by the Holy Spirit, HE is in the midst of the storm with them. And we are humbled to be used for this purpose.
We believe God will continue to make the ministry of the Care Mission both deeper and wider, growing our spiritual and physical reach, taking back what the enemy has stolen. We cannot begin to imagine all that God is doing, but we are excited to see HIS hand at work. We praise and rejoice for HIS glory.
We are so busy during the day to day work of the Care Mission that we can easily miss the forest for the trees. It is only when we tabulate and take account of all God has provided that we can truly begin to appreciate what we’ve been a part of.
During 2018 God used the Care Mission Food Pantry, its volunteer servants, and our supporters to serve 7,444 households. With 22,891 individuals within those households, 85% of those individuals being either children, disabled adults, or senior citizens.
Almost 330 tons of food was distributed, enough food to prepare approx. 549,385 meals! Since we were open 48 weeks in 2018 that amounts to just a little less than 7 tons of food being distributed each week, enough food to prepare approx. 11,470 meals…EACH WEEK!
The estimated retail dollar value of the food distributed would have been $1,977,800.00. None of these things happen without the hand of God upon this ministry. We exalt HIM.
We lean on the Lord daily, especially during the dark times. We lost several friends and supporters during 2018. I will not attempt to list all of them here for fear I’d leave someone out. But, I do want to acknowledge two former Board Members. Denny Cook was reunited in heaven with his wife, Vickie, who passed 6 years ago. Denny and Vickie had both served as volunteers and Board Members for a number of years. We continue to pray for their family and we rejoice for their new address, but we do miss them. Terribly.
We also lost James Walker, Jr. this past year. James and his widow, Jennifer, had served as volunteers and Board Members for several years as well. Eventually they had stepped down due to James’ health. Still, at only 45, his passing was quite a shock. We lift up Jennifer, their children, and grandchildren. We pray that God’s grace, mercy, and love will cover them. We know they miss James deeply. As do we.
During 2018 we had to have some major repairs made on our box truck. We also had to replace all three of the wagons we use to carry out groceries. And we had to replace three of our freezers. This all amounted to approx. $6,000.00 of unexpected additional expense for us. But, God was faithful to provide. As HE often does HE chose to use many of you to meet our needs. We praise God for you and offer you each our sincere gratitude for your prayers and support.
We set our 2019 Board of Directors at our last meeting. Whitney Maldonado stepped down as she and her family relocated to Texas. We wish them well and pray the favor of the Lord will be on them. We added Jon Afman (59). All together Jon and his wife Donna have 10 children. They currently live in Ringgold and own The Lodge at McClemore’s Cove. Jon is also a PE teacher at Battlefield Elementary. He has served and supported the Care Mission since the summer of 2012. We consider him to be a man of God who will be an asset to our Board.
Please keep in your prayers our 2019 Board of Directors
CEO Kendra Phillips, CFO Deon Phillips, Secretary Theresa Dorsey, Ken Hooper, Pastor Chris Spears, Thomas Milligan, and Jon Afman
Food For Thought
Recently much has been made regarding the “homeless” of our community. Over the past almost 14 years we have served these individuals in as Biblical a way as we know how. We know most of them by name. We have files on each one. But, we don’t refer to them as “homeless” because we know they are not in fact “homeless”. They have options, most have family who are more than willing to take them in if they’d get a job or at least try to help out. Many, we’ve noticed, somehow find money for an apartment or hotel room when the weather becomes extreme. Somehow these same individuals always have funds for cigarettes, beer, or whatever their drug of choice happens to be. Many, if not all, have some source of funding; a government check or family member still willing to support them. This particular group of individuals are not living in tents because they have no other choice. They are living in those tents because they have chosen to. They are not out of work because they can’t find a job, they’re not working because they don’t want to. We’re not talking about those who can’t work, we’re talking about those who will not work. And yet at the same time they believe they are somehow owed food, clothing, and even shelter by society.
Unfortunately some, including well-meaning Christians, reinforce this false notion of entitlement and enable this sort of behavior by continuously feeding and assisting them, even though it is Biblically unsound to do so. We cannot “cherry pick” the scriptures, following the scriptures that tell us to help the poor while ignoring the scriptures that tell us to hold them accountable. It feels good to do the first, much more difficult to do the latter.
See Proverbs 18:9, 1 Timothy 5:8, and 2 Thessalonians 3:6-14 among many scriptures throughout the Bible regarding work. According to the Bible work is a blessing, something to be encouraged, not avoided. Hunger is a great motivator. When we blindly provide assistance with no boundaries we remove a powerful God designed motivation. We muddy the waters, actually causing it to take longer for these individuals to turn to God.
We understand that we are not helping these individuals if we continually enable them to live a life style that is specifically rebuked in scripture, in fact we are being disobedient when we do so. Therefore, we never assist an able bodied individual, homeless or otherwise, more than three times in a 12 month period unless they are willing to do community service. That community service can be done at any church, school, or non-profit. In a large part this policy is why only 15% of the individuals we served in 2018 were able bodied adults between the ages of 19 and 64 (3,434). Many of them being the caregivers for the 85% that were either children, disabled adults, or senior citizens (19,457). The number of times food assistance can be received by those who are not part of that able bodied adult group is determined by their household income and situation. Depending on those factors they may receive assistance from six to 12 times in a 12 month period. All assistance being limited to no more than once in 30 days. We believe this expresses the love of Christ in a Biblically sound manner.
Now there have been a few, very few, over the years that were truly homeless. And when those come to us, we offer to place them in homeless shelters, take them to family, and even buy bus tickets, in addition to food, clothing, and personal hygiene items, whatever is needed to meet the immediate need. But, these individuals aren’t the norm. It’s really not that hard to tell the two apart. Those who have not chosen to be homeless will do whatever it takes to get off the streets and are sincerely grateful for whatever helping hand they receive. The others are content to walk the streets, sleep in their tent, or on a porch, or laundry mat, or in a car, or wherever they can find a place that doesn’t require them to work. And they will condemn you to hell if you don’t give them what they want. It’s happened to us so many times we can’t keep count. We know this truth may not be popular with some, but it is the truth. A truth we can support with nearly 14 years of experience serving those in need within our community, homeless or otherwise.
We realize that God is growing and developing the Care Mission into the ministry HE desires it to be. We pray that we will allow HIM to grow and develop our faith and understanding more and more each day. We ask that you will keep the Care Mission and us in your prayers. We need God’s direction and protection. We need HIS peace and HIS power. We need HIS grace and HIS mercy. We need HIS love and HIS strength. Every day. And may all we do be for HIS glory. Amen.
Thanks for your support. Be Blessed,
Deon and Kendra Phillips