The New Year has come and once again, ARM is off to the races! We are rapidly setting up spring and summer work teams, planning for the Cycle of Service-bike ride across Alabama, and praying for our summer staff to run our mission camps. Next month we will be setting up our day camps and getting our sponsorships ready. We remind ourselves daily; the mission is to extend the love of Christ to families through home repair and children’s ministry. Our call to disciple wherever we are stands as a bold and humbling, challenge and motivation.
Here is a humbling and sobering fact in Tuskegee. Whereas church attendance in the United States has dropped to 40%, in Tuskegee it is at 20%. This means that only one in five persons in the community (out of a population of approximately 9500) are in worship on Sunday. Although poverty is a preventable social ill, spiritual poverty has much greater impacts and eternal implications. For those of us living in Alabama, we do not have to look far for places to teach and share God’s love. So, if you have not yet planned or considered challenging your youth, college students, or adults, through missional opportunities, we hope you will consider one of our mission camps with ARM.
We have teams currently signing up so the weeks are going fast at both our Livingston and Tuskegee sites. Mission teams are able to minister with families through home repair and day camp ministry. Sonshine Kids Day camps are modeled after vacation Bible schools and volunteer groups plan most of the daily activities, Bible lessons, and more. For information on bringing a team, see our web site. Plus, we can take groups for Spring Breaks, intentional mission weekends, and more. Also, we are recruiting college students to run our camps. Please help us pass the word to mature Christians with outstanding leadership qualities that can effectively lead our summer teams!
Come be a part of the Cycle of Service! If you are a cyclist or know someone who is, we will be biking across Alabama from May 3-6. Be challenged physically as we ride, share with families through an afternoon of home repair, and help us raise needed finances to serve more families. For information, see our web site www.cycleofservice.arm-al.org.
Thank you to all who gave towards the Frazer matching grant of $4000! We achieved our goal and are extremely grateful for your help and participation! We are also excited about our newest staff member, Kimberly Miller Dixon, who will be taking the position of Assistant Director and will oversee our summer mission camps. We’ll be sending more information about Kimberly later.
Finally, and one last little story: In November, we were able to re-roof a home for Ms. Betty Dozier. Ms. Dozier runs a small outreach ministry in her community and is a great encourager and prayer warrior! As with many elderly limited with disabilities, she paid a roofer to work on her home. He laid a few rows of shingles and then left her house, pocketing $2500 of her hard saved money. The stormy winds ripped off the remaining felt and soon water was pouring into her home. She did not want to ask for help but someone called on her behalf. The “WORD” motorcycle group from Woodbine UMC, Pensacola, not only re-roofed her home but built a wheelchair ramp for another family. They prayed together, shared stories, and offered hope through Christ. Living out the Great Commission is not easy-going into all the world to make disciples is a great challenge, a challenge we are called to every waking moment. God bless you as you serve! “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus (John 20:21)
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