It has really been a great few months here in ministry. I wish you could all come and experience the joy of ministry in the city of Philadelphia with us. Someone gave me a newspaper article that stated that Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the U.S. I thought what a great place to be helping the poor!
It should come as no surprise that the “feeding the hungry” ministries are a huge success. We recently had a visit from Philabundance (Philly Food Bank) and they encouraged me to keep track of the food we give away. I resisted because I said “We are not that big and it is not a big deal”. We did some rough calculations and we are one of their top food cupboards, as we are on track to give away over 65 thousand pounds of groceries, serve over 8,000 meals and hand out over 10,000 snacks this year!
Yes, those are the numbers but the real impact is the people we get to bless. They are real people that are having a hard time with life in general. One lady told me it takes her an hour and a half to get here and she does not just come for the food but the fellowship and because of “how blessed” she feels after every visit. This part of our ministry is the “foot in the door” of people’s lives, and from here we can go on to a deeper relationship with our neighbors.
It has been great to have Bob Marshal helping make bags and giving out the food. He has been a champion for the hungry by raising over $5,000.00 for the food cupboard ministry. We are very blessed to have Bob on board helping CYC. If you are in the Yardley / Langhorne area and want to join Bob one day, give him a call (267-902-4760) and you can join him as he journeys down to Philly to minister. You can also contact him about his “Change for a Change” campaign. (a little spare change goes a long way)
You can tell ministry is growing and our need for a larger facility is upon us. Right on time we have had a few people come together with a goal to finish construction on the ministry center. It has been a busy and exciting past month as we now have a construction team with a goal (and plan) to have the first floor done by July 4, 2012. The first floor ceiling beams are in and we have the approval from the city to drywall and fire seal the first floor ceiling. (That was a huge answer to prayer) We have also replaced the front wall and installed a new front door to code.
NOTE: Pictures up on facebook at Cast Your Care Ministry also you can friend me friend me at www.facebook.com/jimishere
It is the time of year when everyone tells me I should send out a big “ASK” for year end contributions. OK, can I have a big year end contribution from you? Just kidding but in all seriousness those of you receiving this are “the team” and the ministry has grown because of you sharing CYC with your friends and family. It is really cost prohibitive for us to do those bulk mailings but I know that we have you spreading the word about CYC and I thank you for your support. We are currently putting together a construction fund raising plan, but if the $70,000 needed comes in before that, it would be an answer to my prayers. FYI, we already have over $11,500 given so know that prayer works.
Blessings to you for ministering here in Philly with us!