Loving by Serving
It’s easy to think of going international when talking about missions—but missions can happen right in our own backyard. And that’s what one small group from The Church at Brook Hills is doing.
For several years now, the second grade class at Westminster School at Oak Mountain has come to our Family Care home in Alabaster to volunteer, helping us with gardening and other home needs. It was during those times that, for Liza Kinsley, at teacher at Westminster, a passion began to grow for the ladies and children at our Family Care home. So much so, that she thought it would be a great place for her small group to get plugged in, especially since it was in their community.
When Liza came back to her small group with this idea, their members didn’t hesitate. The ladies were immediately excited, thinking of ways to connect with the mothers at the Family Care home. The guys were eager to help too, though at the time, it seemed like something the ladies would be more involved in.
It wasn’t too long though, before they were all able to jump right in. The first thing they were able to do was grounds work and removing tree limbs—something the guys in the group were really able to help out with. “It was a really fun time for us,” said Chris, Liza’s husband. “I don’t think a lot of the men were into the initial idea at first, because it just sounded like a ladies’ thing. But they’ve really come on board and have been serving ever since.”
Since that first time, their small group has been hands-on in a variety of ways, including donating supplies, providing gifts at Christmas, getting apartments ready in the home for new mothers and their children to enter the program, lawn work, repairing bicycles, and much more . . . and it doesn’t stop there.
“We’re really looking forward to some opportunities in the future,” Chris said, while sharing their vision for ways to connect even more with our families. “We’ve talked about doing a backyard Bible club for the kids and families there, and we’d also like to do some life skills development and spiritual development, like Bible studies, with the moms that our group can lead in.”
“I think the most impact we’ve seen has been on our own small group members,” said Chris, “It’s been nice to be able to help people who are right in our community, and to help families get back on their feet and have the escape they need for a time.” Chris goes on to share that it’s really impacted their
children too and has been an example to them of what it means to love others. “Whenever I get a call from Cami, (Alabaster Family Care Manager), my daughter immediately gets excited and wants to go with me. She really wants to help, and it’s been exciting for her to catch the vision of loving people . . . and (I know) that it’s not just a feeling, it’s action and ways to serve each other.”
The families in our program have been so grateful to Chris and Liza’s small group and the ways they’ve served.
“We are eternally grateful for their deep commitment and investment in our families,” said Cami. “They have served in so many ways . . . these generous families have invested their time, energy, and resources to help Family Care. Words cannot express our profound appreciation for their service to the Kingdom in this capacity.”