The atmosphere was a little tense in the office.
Of the thirty-two Tower Road families that our church had pledged to provide Christmas for, only 25 had been “adopted.” That meant there were seven families… Over 40 kids… Who would have no hope for Christmas this year.
Hence the tension. Glenda Murphy, Saber Marks, and I were worried. We knew there was only one more Sunday before our gift collection day, and that asking for our church to step up and cover seven more families seemed a little daunting… Each of our lifegroups had already adopted a family, and we didn’t want to overwhelm anyone, so we weren’t sure what to do.
My lifegroup had been pretty excited about the Bautista family. Other than Sherry and me, our group is made up of millenials, and they want to do whatever they can to make some kind of mark. They want to leave this world in better shape than they found it. So, they have been eager to take care of our adopted Christmas family, and I think all of our other lifegroups have responded the same way.
But here we were, coming up on the last minute, and we still had families needing our help.
“Why don’t I make them available on Sunday morning during the church service,” I asked. I had seen our church step up before, and I figured maybe there is someone out there who can still adopt a family. Maybe two. Maybe after I talk about it in our three Sunday morning services, we can get half of these families taken care of.
So, on Sunday morning, I started off doing exactly that… During the early service I made an appeal for taking care of these remaining seven families. Hoping for the best, I asked people to please stop by the Guest Services desk and see how they could help out with that.
Ten minutes after that first service was over, Saber approached me in the auditorium to tell me that ALL SEVEN families had been adopted by people in that first service. We hadn’t even gotten to the other two services yet, and God had already provided for those needs.
I was awed. Humbled. I am so amazed at what God is doing in this group of people. This body STEPS UP when there is a need. Our people are acutely aware of their purpose here to be “Christ’s ambassadors” in this world, (2 Corinthians 5:20) and they don’t back down from that mission. They love God, love others, and make disciples. THAT is the kind of church I want to be part of, and I am so blessed and privileged to serve at The Orchard Church.