Evangelism Catalyst
First Baptist Church
April 7
As a 501(c)(3) organization, the North American Mission Board respects the intent of givers while retaining discretion over the use of all gifts. Any gifts received above the specific need will be applied where the need is greatest.
About My Family
I gave my life to Jesus at a very early age. Later as a teenager, I committed to a life of ministry serving Jesus. I thought that would mean becoming a foreign missionary, but that is not the direction in which God led me. Instead, He introduced me to my future husband, who had made a similar committment the summer before we met. We were married in 1977 while attending Louisiana College in Pineville, La. Further education led us to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where my husband received his Master of Arts in Religious Education. Our lives together serving the Lord has included ministering to churches in Texas, Alabama and our home state of Louisiana. God has blessed us with three children, two daughters-in-love and two beautiful grandchildren, all of whom love and serve the Lord.
In 2006, our family moved back to our hometown of Bastrop, La., due to the failing health of my mother and her need for full-time care. Over the next few years, God revealed a new ministry opportunity unlike anything we had ever pursued before. Because of the closure of International Paper Mill in our town in 2012, our community has suffered a major economic downturn resulting in high unemployment rates and increased numbers of families relying of public assistance for survival. What started out as a food pantry in a closet at our church serving 10–15 families per month has birthed "Care & Hope Ministry" which is a compassion ministry seeking to meet the physical and spiritual needs of persons in our community.
Reaching people for Jesus through a compassion ministry takes on 4 major objectives:
Meeting a real physical need
Developing a trusting relationship with the people we serve
Fully sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
Connecting those people with a local church
This ministry is reaching people most churches don't pursue. We are ministering to "the least of these" of whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 25:31-46. Thank you for your prayers for and support of Care & Hope Ministry as we seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to our community.
In 2006, our family moved back to our hometown of Bastrop, La., due to the failing health of my mother and her need for full-time care. Over the next few years, God revealed a new ministry opportunity unlike anything we had ever pursued before. Because of the closure of International Paper Mill in our town in 2012, our community has suffered a major economic downturn resulting in high unemployment rates and increased numbers of families relying of public assistance for survival. What started out as a food pantry in a closet at our church serving 10–15 families per month has birthed "Care & Hope Ministry" which is a compassion ministry seeking to meet the physical and spiritual needs of persons in our community.
Reaching people for Jesus through a compassion ministry takes on 4 major objectives:
Meeting a real physical need
Developing a trusting relationship with the people we serve
Fully sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
Connecting those people with a local church
This ministry is reaching people most churches don't pursue. We are ministering to "the least of these" of whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 25:31-46. Thank you for your prayers for and support of Care & Hope Ministry as we seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to our community.
About My Ministry
Care & Hope ministry seeks to meet the physical and spiritual needs of persons in our community. Care is shown by giving generous boxes of food, clothing or household goods to persons in need. Hope is defined and explained as we share the love of Jesus in word and deed by witnessing, distributing Bibles and tracts and praying with or counseling those we help. Care & Hope Ministry operates a thrift store, which gives people an excellent source of great clothes, household goods and furniture at a greatly reduced price, allowing them stretch their limited financial resources.
The sales from the thrift store help to fund the purchases of food we distribute to families each month. Care & Hope Ministry distributes generous boxes of food monthly to more than 500 families who have qualified based on their limited income. Care & Hope Ministry is supported by the Morehouse Baptist Association and other area churches through regular financial gifts, volunteer services and by donating items for the thrift store or food items for the food pantry. We also serve families in severe crisis through referrals from local churches, businesses or civic organizations by giving food and clothing/household goods to help them through their crisis. For information, call our thrift store at 318-239-3484.
Together we are making Bastrop and Morehouse Parish a better community by loving our neighbors, giving a hand up, not a handout and telling people about the love of Jesus every day!
The sales from the thrift store help to fund the purchases of food we distribute to families each month. Care & Hope Ministry distributes generous boxes of food monthly to more than 500 families who have qualified based on their limited income. Care & Hope Ministry is supported by the Morehouse Baptist Association and other area churches through regular financial gifts, volunteer services and by donating items for the thrift store or food items for the food pantry. We also serve families in severe crisis through referrals from local churches, businesses or civic organizations by giving food and clothing/household goods to help them through their crisis. For information, call our thrift store at 318-239-3484.
Together we are making Bastrop and Morehouse Parish a better community by loving our neighbors, giving a hand up, not a handout and telling people about the love of Jesus every day!
