For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
[Matthew 25:35, 37, 40 NIV]
We all can probably think of family members, friends, people in our community whom we can turn to when times get tough or we are “down on our luck.” We have people we could fall back on if we lost our job, if we had to move out of our home, if we were inundated with costs from a serious medical concern in our family.
But what if we didn’t and the unthinkable happened—something unexpected and unforeseen. We had no job, no place to live, no source of funds. This is the plight of those who come to Family Promise.
Family Promise is a nation-wide ministry where families who have no where else to go, except to be on the streets, find help and support to achieve sustaining independence. Not having any prospects to fall back on when tough times come may be the only thing that separates us from them.
St. Andrew’s is one of a network of churches throughout the country that is providing a local response to a national problem. Churches in the network agree to open the doors of their facilities to provide temporary housing, meals and other services to families who have nowhere else to go. Family Promise also has services to mentor at-risk families, teach financial literacy and help find jobs and affordable housing.
Our church hosts these families for a week every 2-3 months. Our next host week is August 7-14. You can volunteer to provide food, host dinners, provide laundry services, and serve as overnight hosts. There are also donation opportunities available. For those who will be personally interacting with our guest families, the church is offering a training session Sunday, August 7 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center.
Family Promise is a great place to serve not only because you are helping families in need, but also because you can easily fit one of the opportunities into your schedule. And it is a ministry that is intergenerational. The whole family can serve together.
For more information or to register to help, click HERE. Family Promise, as well as St. Andrew’s, envisions a nation in which every family has a home, a livelihood, and the chance to sustain lives filled with hope in the love of Jesus Christ.
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