We are doing a lot of work at Farrington Mission, but are we actually touching lives? Here's your answer: during the month of August 182 different family units came to our food pantry and/or clothing closet.
For a brand new mission plant, those are staggering numbers. Consider this: prior to Farrington Baptist Church giving NEHBC their property for us to turn into a mission, they had tried to transition into a mission themselves. They had a different food pantry they had been running for several years during which they kept impeccable records of the number of families they fed each month. They never had a one month during which they reached 100 different family units. We launched FM in mid June and in August we reached 182 different family units--not too shabby for a mission that is run entirely by volunteers! Is God in this or what?
And we are just getting started. Consider these further growth catalysts:
1. Publicity--word is still getting out about the launch of FM. There is only 10 weeks of "word of mouth" thus far. Slowly word is getting around and as it does, more families will come.
2. If we can get enough local churches on board, we can have enough food inventory to cut ties with the Houston Food Bank. Why does that matter? They put restrictions on how many people we can reach--they require us to only feed people in certain zip codes if we take food bank inventory. That means one has to live in a certain zip code if they are going to hear the gospel at FM...unacceptable! Imagine if one had to live in a certain zip code to attend NEHBC! I understand why the food bank has this rule, but for a gospel ministry it is incredulous. We have to have more churches on board. We need NEHBCers to make regular food donations a way of life. If the food inventory gets high enough on a consistent basis, we can make food available to anybody who shows up which means there is a much larger base of people with whom we can share the gospel message.
3. This week, the dance clinic ministry launched and it has the potential to explode in numbers of lives touched with the gospel.
4. Soon the crisis pregnancy center will be open for business and it's a 5 days/week CPC so it will impact many people.
But, back to the 182 different family units number. I'm very pleased with our progress. It's enough for us to say the Lord is confirming yet again that this is His will. It's by His grace it has happened, but He usually works through people and in the case of FM it is definitely the case that NEHBCers have risen to the occasion, made incredible personal sacrifices, and poured themselves into the launch of FM. I've said it before and I'll say it again: those who have embraced the launch of FM with their lives remind me of the parable of a pearl merchant who went looking for a pearl of great price and when he found it, went and sold everything he had to acquire that pearl.
Glory to God.
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