El Camino Church Sunday School Feeding Program

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Kristin Newman
5 years ago
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600 SW 3rd Street, Suite 2201 Pompano Beach,

Sunday School Feeding Program Help Satisfy

Jesus La Independencia, Peru PROJECT 0512 Then

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and

1 600 SW 3rd Street, Suite 2201 Pompano Beach, Florida El Camino Church Sunday School Feeding Program Help Satisfy Physical and Spiritual Hunger in the Name of Jesus La Independencia, Peru PROJECT 0512 Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

Project Synopsis Description This project will share the lifechanging message of Jesus with poor children through a community Sunday school program that also provides weekly, nutritious meals.

2 Project Synopsis Description This project will share the lifechanging message of Jesus with poor children through a community Sunday school program that also provides weekly, nutritious meals. Purpose Weekly meals will encourage regular attendance at this Sunday School that satisfies the hunger of needy children while it helps them learn biblical truths that will bless their lives. Location La Independencia, an economically depressed neighborhood on the outskirts of Peru s capital city of Lima. Cost $3,960 will fund weekly meals for 36 children, Sunday School curriculum, classroom supplies and rent for the building. Highlights In the impoverished town of La Independencia, children live in difficult, and sometimes abusive, family environments. When the nearby El Camino Church (Church of the Way) launched a Sunday School program to address the spiritual well-being of neighborhood children, its leaders discovered they could also meet the physical needs of the kids by providing a nutritious meal. Thanks to this Sunday School, children who otherwise might never have visited a church learn about Jesus. Free, nutritious meals help ease the children s hunger pangs, but they also serve as an incentive to keep students coming back for lessons and fellowship. This poor church does not have the means to keep feeding the children week after week, so it depends on Cross International to help fund this important outreach. Partner with Cross International and El Camino Church to make an eternal difference in the lives of these precious children! 1

The Need: Empty Stomachs and Hurting Hearts Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.

3 The Need: Empty Stomachs and Hurting Hearts Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Psalm 25:16-17 Like many places in the developing world, La Independencia suffers from a level of poverty that can destroy family structures. In this blighted suburb of Lima, Peru, fathers are often absent, uninvolved or abusive. In such dysfunctional family environments, neglected children have almost no support or guidance, leaving them with little hope for a better future. In many homes, drug and alcohol addictions are also prevalent. It s so common, in fact, that many children don t know any other way of life. With no better example to follow, they grow up and repeat with their own children the behaviors they have learned leading to an unending cycle of despair. Because community poverty is at the root of these troubles and good jobs are scarce, even hardworking families can barely scrape enough money together to rent the small shacks or apartments they call home, and supplying children with three healthy meals a day is simply impossible. As a result, many of the young boys and girls of La Independencia are malnourished, troubled and desperate for attention. While these outward signs of poverty and misbehavior are disturbing, we know these children are just like our own sons and daughters and their souls cry out for love, guidance and redemption. They dream of being loved unconditionally, being protected, and finding hope. As Christians, we know this longing for purpose and true joy can only be found in Jesus Christ, so we strive to open that door to God for these and other precious children in need, and by God s grace, we found a partner in El Camino Church (Church of the Way) that wanted to achieve that very goal! In fact, the church has already launched a Sunday School program to evangelize and disciple the area s poor families. They simply need our financial support to fund and extend their mission to serve these children in need. Please join us in this vital outreach. Please help us share the message of Jesus radical love with children who need it desperately. There is no limit to the healing and hope that can come through a relationship with Jesus. As these neglected children learn God loves them, their hearts can be freed from the pain and poverty that has tainted their family life for generations. And with that gift, their lives will be changed forever. 2

Surely, they thought, the Lord does not want these young boys and girls to suffer.

4 The Ministry: Jesus Loves the Little Children All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace. Isaiah 54:13 When leaders at El Camino Church launched the Sunday School program in La Independencia, they quickly discovered that children were coming to class with empty stomachs. Surely, they thought, the Lord does not want these young boys and girls to suffer. To address the children s hunger, the church began serving nutritious meals to the kids after the Sunday School class. Soon, boys and girls were walking long distances to hear Bible lessons and eat a satisfying lunch, and in time, the program had to rent a larger space nearby to accommodate the growing number of children. Today, when children arrive at Sunday School, they are separated into three groups depending on their age. Each class learns a lesson from God s Word from teachers using attention-grabbing and hands-on methods to help children understand and apply Biblical truth. The goal is for children to understand the Gospel s power in their lives and to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. After class, the children are fed a nutritious lunch by church volunteers. Not only does this meet a physical need, but it s also a tangible way church members can share God s love with these children in need. While behavioral problems are common when children first enter the Sunday School, most of the children are radically changed by the life-changing message of Jesus and through the compassion of the volunteer teachers. In time, hearts are transformed and joyful obedience becomes a fruit of the Spirit. When Christ s love is shared selflessly, even the most hopeless situation can change for the better! Cross International is committed to continuing this simple, yet life-changing project, but we need your support to meet the ministry s funding needs. Please help us share Jesus love with the least of these in La Independencia. Healthy meals give children an incentive to return to Sunday School week after week. Children learn the importance of studying the Bible through the program. 3

Project Budget To keep costs low, the Sunday School makes it a priority to use volunteer teachers, helpers and cooks, but rent, food and material costs remain a challenge.

Here s the breakdown of the ministry s financial needs: Item Cost Rent $1,237 Food Chicken, beef, beans, rice, fruit, milk, etc.

5 Project Budget To keep costs low, the Sunday School makes it a priority to use volunteer teachers, helpers and cooks, but rent, food and material costs remain a challenge. El Camino Church cannot sustain this evangelistic ministry on its own, but with our generous support it can continue to build God s Kingdom in La Independencia! Here s the breakdown of the ministry s financial needs: Item Cost Rent $1,237 Food Chicken, beef, beans, rice, fruit, milk, etc. $1,389 Sunday School Materials Curriculum, books, printing costs, paper, etc. $354 Other Expenses $620 Cross International Project Management $360 Total $3,960 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 4

6 You Can Build God s Kingdom! Even in our constantly changing world, one thing remains a rock-solid standard for living: God s truth and love. Young children are a particularly precious part of His eternal plan. In Matthew 19, Jesus shows His special love for little ones in a short but poignant encounter Then people brought little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there (Matthew 19:13-15). El Camino Church respects Christ s heart for children and is dutifully reaching into the darkest corners of its impoverished area to bring precious boys and girls to the feet of Jesus. The volunteers at the Sunday School understand the value of each young soul in God s eyes, and they want every child to have an eternal future filled with hope. Today, you can be part of this amazing ministry! You can lift children out of poverty and hopelessness through the power of the Gospel! El Camino Church depends on Cross International and our supporters to feed hungry children and to teach them God s Word. Without this support, their ministry would likely have to close its doors to the children who have come to depend on it to satisfy their physical and spiritual hunger. Please give generously so this Sunday School can continue to minister to children longing for the hope of Christ! Your gift will have an eternal impact on those who need help most! Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38 Our Promise to You! Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred during the current calendar year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry SW 3rd Street, Suite 2201 Pompano Beach, Florida Copyright Cross International. Cost-effectively written, designed and printed in-house. [cm1606]

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