FAITH IN ACTION

This past weekend’s Super Bowl was the most watched U.S. telecast in history, with over 111 million viewers.  That record audience included 32 men who live in the woods of Douglasville and the Men’s Assessment Center along with over 40 volunteers who served them appetizers, beverages, and barbecue, watching the game on the big screen at First United Methodist Church.  To our knowledge this is a first for our community—a Super Bowl Party for the homeless.

As followers of Christ we hope you are encouraged by the ways the Holy Spirit is moving in Douglas County to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, visit the prisoner, and comfort the broken.  We hope you are blessed by our unity, as volunteers from the Daily Bread Ministry, First United Methodist Church, Crossroads Church, Faith in Action, Project One, MAC, and many others who came together to serve our people in need.  Finally, surely we are all blessed to think of a church with open hearts, open minds, and doors that open to the homeless as well as the fortunate.

The good news needs to be shared, and the faithful recognized and encouraged.  We would like to thank Leila Meyers and her team at Daily Bread; Angie and Chris Jeffers of Project One and most especially Pastor Max Caylor of First United Methodist Church, for showing us that we are most like Christ when we serve others.

Two weeks ago Grady, Paul, and I stood in Michelle’s foyer feeling pretty helpless as she started crying, in fear about her home being sold on the courthouse steps the first week of February.  With no child support, no job, and no car to find one or get to one Michelle and her family were running out of options.  I have to confess that I felt very inadequate maybe even pathetic that all Faith in Action had to bring in the face of what she was facing was a twin bed.  I will also confess that I am in shock as I write this, that the Lord has moved so quickly in response to our prayers and obedience.  Forgive me if I am inadequate to tell this story.

You see, God was working a plan with Michelle, her family, and FIA that I didn’t know about and didn’t really expect to happen.  He was doing the impossible, moving the mountains of foreclosure, job, and car—all at once.  Grady was moved by the Spirit to speak on Michelle’s behalf and she suddenly has two very promising job leads.  Tina’s neighbors decided that their Mazda 626 with only 83k miles had found a home; and the foreclosure was stopped with a loan modification.

Michelle joined us at First United Methodist Church this past Sunday to share her testimony of God moving in her family’s life out of nowhere and in great power.  She told us that not long ago she had a dream of being given a silver car, very much like the one you see her standing in front of in this picture.  Her story teaches us much, most of all that if we are obedient and do what God has called us to do in serving others, He will show up and move the mountains.  He will cause the haves, to share with the have nots.  He will turn the have nots—into haves.