Mission opportunities were abundant at General Assembly, and Assembly goers responded in force! Thank you for your interest in serving at the 2107 General Assembly and thanks to all who stepped up and offered your time and talents in service. Disciples were busy during GA, making an impact on Indianapolis as we answered the call to Get Dirty for Jesus Together! High school youth served breakfast at two Ronald McDonald houses on Sunday morning. Middle school youth assembled 120 backpacks for area homeless. 82 Disciples donated blood. More than 22,000 pounds of potatoes were sorted for distribution through the local food bank. A 3 bedroom house was framed and stood up in less than five hours inside the Convention Center, then taken down and transported to a local home site where it was completed. Youth spread mulch (in the rain!) at a local elementary school. Over the course of two shifts, several hundred pounds of food was sorted at Gleaners Food Bank. In the convention center, Disciples also learned about Bread for the World and wrote letters advocating for food security; knit more than 200 hats for babies; and made 90 hero capes for premature babies in a local NICU. More than 428 Disciples were involved in these acts of service. In addition, Disciples Women donated and assembled 290 health kits and tied quilts for immigrants and refugees. Disciples truly made an impact on Indianapolis and beyond as they served in Mission!
This fall, major disasters have been in the news continuously. We know that there is strong interest in supporting the Hurricane Harvey response. If you are able to take a mission team to help with the muck and gut work before the end of November, please email Josh Baird – include the name of your church, how many people you expect to have, and the dates you are available. Details for a long-term response are coming together and a calendar for scheduling teams will be available soon. In the meantime, a number of other places are ready today to receive your team and put them to work. Over the past two years, a significant number of disasters did not make lasting headlines. Help is desperately needed – please consider sending a team to one of these communities.
We wanted to also take this opportunity to let you know that we have created a link for gathering email addresses, in order to update those who are interested in serving with disaster-affected communities when the time is right: click here to receive periodic updates.
Thank you for your servant hearts and let’s continue to Get Dirty for Jesus!
Blessings,
Josh Baird & Brenda Tyler
Disciples Volunteering
Disciples Home Missions