Thankserving Day Update
On November 19, we held our annual Thankserving Day here at the mission. We prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas with volunteers all year long because these events are so huge! Thankserving Day is one of the largest outreaches we do all year. We prepared 7,300 Thanksgiving food boxes and turkeys and passed them out to 73 partners. We are so thankful to all the many volunteers and partners that came to the mission to make the food boxes and sort goods. Being a staff of only 7, half of which are part-time, we heavily depend on the Lord to send us volunteers to help us accomplish the work we want to do. He always provides. So many people come weekly, monthly, and quarterly throughout the year. We appreciate how the Lord delivered you to us at just the right time! We thank you!
Many times, we use grants to help us purchase food. We partner with Marino grocery and other vendors to find the best price for turkeys and non-perishable food items. Partners and donors sponsor the food boxes. We keep the boxes as low-cost as possible, and often we can add additional donated resources to double the value the sponsor pays.
We often pair suburban churches with inner-city churches to build relationships between the two. Most of our partners are churches, but we also work with the Birmingham city government and local non-profits. These partners take the turkeys and food boxes and pass them out to families they want to serve in the community. We ask our partners to take pictures and report how they used the boxes.
CSM wants to be good stewards of the resources God’s given us. We see our resources as ministry opportunities to provide for needs and share the gospel. As partnerships grow and change, seeing them grow and mature is a great delight! As part of the process, ministries begin to see the bigger picture God is drawing through Christian Service Mission. It’s not about us at all – but God at work in providing for His people – in every aspect. It’s the Grand Story of God Himself! What a God we serve!
On the day of Thankserving, partners from all over the city brought trailers, even a few 18-wheelers, to load up Thanksgiving boxes. People are often surprised by how much room 100 boxes take up. Driving up in a van just won’t cut it. This year, we had all the food set up in palletts outside, and partners could drive through and pick up their orders. All the partners came prepared with the right vehicle size. The drive-thru went smoother than ever before. We started at 5 am, and by 10 am, we’d already passed out almost all our food boxes. Occasionally, people stopped and asked for prayer.
We are so thankful to Auburn Community Church and Dawson Memorial Baptist College group, who came and helped us pass out food boxes on our Thankserving day! We loved watching them use their gifts and serve others.
