Faith in Action began in 2012 with Pastor John Parrish’s vision of putting “feet” to our Sunday morning worship. Once a year we step out of the pews and instead go into the community where we try to make a difference in a variety of ways. Children visit the nursing homes to sing to the residents, ladies bake cookies to take to our community service members such as police, fire department, and more. Others paint fire hydrants, or spruce up parks, or clean gutters of shut-ins, the list there is endless. Still others take the time to send notes of encouragement, or simply bow in prayer for those in our community who struggle each day. There’s even a group that prepares items for the foreign mission fields. There is so much to be done, and so many that are able to help.  Perhaps that is why in 2016 not just First Baptist, but 6 other area churches are joining forces to make Faith in Action reach even farther and do even more for our North Mac community.

The “Hospitality and Prayer” committee, will be packaging home made cookies that will be delivered to our police, fire department volunteers, and ambulance workers. Each person on this committee will take some time in the sanctuary to keep a constant stream of prayers lifted up for the other committees’ service project, our church, our community, and whatever else God lays upon their hearts.

The “Food for the Soul” committee needs help to prepare and serve a spaghetti meal that we will all share together after our committee projects are complete. Additionally, we plan to deliver these meals to some of those on the regular meals on wheels delivery route since those aren’t available on the weekend. This committee may also meet on Saturday to prepare the spaghetti sauce ahead of time.

The “Outreach” committee which will be assembling hygiene bags for the homeless. This is still a work in progress as we figure out all the details, so watch your Sunday bulletin for more details.

The “God’s Good Earth” committee will be available to those who have a real need of help with yard work or light indoor or outdoor chores. Things like raking leaves and cleaning out gutters. The members of this committee plan put their backs into it! And, depending on the number of people who volunteer, and the weather that morning, they will help as many folks as possible.

The “Kids Can Minster 2” committee needs help with the youngest members of our congregation as they travel to our two area nursing homes to present their own special church service and visitation for the residents there. If you have ever been at the nursing home when children arrive, you know the pure joy it brings for the residents. Now add singing, and hugs, and smiles and you have a perfect Sunday morning! Depending on the number of children we can wrangle, we’ll need vehicles and drivers that can carry our precious cargo (and car seats) to and from the care facilities in Virden and Girard.