Children of inmates receive Christmas hope

NEW ORLEANS — Franklin Avenue Baptist Church is making Christmas brighter for some 225 children whose parents are imprisoned.

“We recognize it as fulfilling a need and planting a seed,” said Elvira Brown, prison ministry director at the New Orleans church.

“The need is great on so many levels. Many of these children will not get any other gift for Christmas.”

In Louisiana, Franklin Avenue is among more than 100 churches committed to serve nearly 4,000 children whose incarcerated parents signed up for Angel Tree, a benevolent and evangelistic outreach coordinated by Prison Fellowship.

Nationally, Angel Tree networks with thousands of churches to give gifts to children, presented as given by the parents, along with Gospel tracts and the parents’ personal messages.

Brown said Angel Tree presents a positive image of Christianity to needy children and the families with whom they live, many of whom are not members of missions-minded congregations.

“They need to know that love is what we’re all about,” Brown said.

Louisiana houses about 3,000 federal inmates as well as about 38,000 state inmates, plus an uncounted number of local jail inmates. Children of imprisoned parents likely are impoverished, have emotional and behavioral problems and suffer sexual or physical abuse, according to the nonpartisan Council of State Governments Justice Center.

Churches develop relationships with the children and the families, ministering to them throughout the year, as Angel Tree encourages. Franklin Avenue distributed the gifts during a Christmas program Dec. 12, introducing the children to Christ through storytelling, a play and liturgical dance.

“We do have some families that do continue to come to church,” said Brown, who is working to develop a mentoring program through Franklin Avenue’s prison ministry. In addition to its Angel Tree outreach, the church plans to provide for an additional 20 children identified separately through the congregation.

Elsewhere in Louisiana, Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, which has participated in Angel Tree nearly 20 years, distributed gifts to 90 children at a Dec. 5 Christmas musical and encouraged the families to continue to fellowship with the church.

“There are some who have come back and we have some families that have joined,” said Pam Ford, Trinity’s Angel Tree coordinator. “[These families] have become a part of the family and they are experiencing the ministry that is available at Trinity.”

Angel Tree provides an opportunity to foster evangelism and giving among Trinity members while showing love for the incarcerated, Ford said. “It’s a special opportunity for parents to teach their children and for the congregation as a family to express what the real reason of Christmas is,” she said.

“We wrap our arms around everyone who comes through those doors. They get filled with the love of Jesus,” Ford said of the outreach. “There’s a connection that takes place where it doesn’t matter about any differences that may appear outwardly. Our hearts are united as one.”

First Baptist Church in West Monroe, meanwhile, is delivering Angel Tree gifts along with Bibles to the homes of the 80 children, said Joy Regan, who coordinates the outreach along with her husband Ed.

“It’s a good ministry to serve or represent the person that’s incarcerated, to be able to do something for the children that [their parents] can’t do,” Regan said. “We also want them to experience God’s love in their lives.”

And the children certainly are responsive, Regan said. “We can tell in these kids’ eyes. They say, ‘This is from my daddy?’”

(Source: Baptist Press)

Billions of kids at risk, Christians can help

ORLANDO FL ― According to the United Nations, there are 1.2 billion children at risk throughout the world. Some children are living on the streets of major cities. Some are hungry because they have no food. Others are forced into child labor. Others are orphaned by HIV/AIDS, drug use, violent crime or natural disasters.

Pioneers, a church planting ministry, wants to encourage national churches to do something to help. But they can’t do it alone. That’s why their children-at-risk advocate Tami Snowden developed a program called Red Card.

“The Red Card program,” says Snowden, “is a curriculum — it is a class — designed for families to take together. Number one, it is to raise awareness of what’s happening. Two, to mobilize a prayer effort, and three, to provide actual steps that can make a difference.”

Snowden says many Christians want to help but are overwhelmed by the statistics. That why this program was developed: “to help members of the church not be so overwhelmed and be able to make a difference in the lives of children at risk.”

According to Snowden, “They hear stories. They’re touched. They want to help, but they feel like they are one person, and what can one person do for 1.2 billion children at risk?”

Red Card is an eight-week, Scripture-based interactive program featuring video, hand- on activities, and a journal to help your family document your journey through the program. The program deals with poverty, orphans, street children, child labor, children of war, and other issues that are family friendly. It doesn’t deal with the sex trade problem.

Pioneers has church planting teams all over the world who are working in areas where there are large numbers of children at risk. Snowden says as families understand the issues, they can have a direct impact on evangelism. “We desire that the family hook up with the mission agency, or missionary on the ground, working with orphan children, working with street children, and they are bring the Gospel of Christ to these children.”

While the program is developed by Pioneers, Snowden says they’re promoting other ministries, too. “What Red Card is set up to do is to be pretty neutral. We are not here to promote Pioneers agenda, necessarily. We have some Pioneers opportunities in here, but we have set this up to be a network for quality organizations.”

If you’d like to be a part of the Red Card program, go to http://www.RedCardKids.org.

(Source: Missionary Network News)

Heart-Fire Ministries Summer Outreach Efforts

Heart-Fire Ministries along with World Harvest Community Church is collecting specific
school supplies to fill backpacks for children in need. Below is a list of volunteer
opportunities and specific items needed:

Backpacks (All ages)
(Inexpensive) Headphones/Earbuds (For computer use)
Hand Sanitizer (8oz. of smaller)
Facial Tissue
Washable Wide Markers
Colored Pencils (12 ct.)
Pencil Boxes/Pouches
Scissors

Volunteers
Packing Backpacks / Friday, August 7 / 6:00pm
Outreach / Saturday, August 8 / 9:00pm – Noon
Held at The Fire Escape / 819 N. 27th St. / Milwaukee
Call (414) 445-9490 to RSVP