LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS
Compassion and Care Through Local Church Ministries
Louis F. Morgan
A Ministry of Care in the Mountains
Deep in the mountains of Tennessee some 25 miles from the railroad, Flora Bower, W.F. Bryant, and other members of their small ministry team braved stormy weather as they walked for miles across logs, rocks, creeks, over mountain peaks, and into valleys to reach “Jeffries’ Hell”—an isolated area aptly named because poverty was pervasive. As part of a collaborative effort of the Hillview Church at Tellico Plains and the North Cleveland Church, the ministry team was on a mission of compassion.
In the summer of 1910, Flora Bower, a former rescue mission worker who by then was assisting with ministry at North Cleveland Church and working for the church’s publishing ministry reported through the Church of God Evangel that God impressed her to join W.F. Bryant and others on a mission trip into the mountains beyond Tellico Plains. “These people have to work hard, and it is all heavy work in the timber, on the railroad and farming, and they realize so little,” wrote Bower.
Deep in the mountains of Tennessee some 25 miles from the railroad, Flora Bower, W.F. Bryant, and other members of their small ministry team braved stormy weather as they walked for miles across logs, rocks, creeks, over mountain peaks, and into valleys to reach “Jeffries’ Hell”—an isolated area aptly named because poverty was pervasive. As part of a collaborative effort of the Hillview Church at Tellico Plains and the North Cleveland Church, the ministry team was on a mission of compassion.
In the summer of 1910, Flora Bower, a former rescue mission worker who by then was assisting with ministry at North Cleveland Church and working for the church’s publishing ministry reported through the Church of God Evangel that God impressed her to join W.F. Bryant and others on a mission trip into the mountains beyond Tellico Plains. “These people have to work hard, and it is all heavy work in the timber, on the railroad and farming, and they realize so little,” wrote Bower.
Most of them have to carry all they eat from five to twenty miles on their back over the mountains, except what little they can raise in the way of vegetables. They have little or nothing left to buy clothing, and most of them have large families, and nothing scarcely to give those who go to labor among them...We do praise the Lord that in one community the Holy Ghost has come, and many are filled with His Spirit, and the Lord heals them when they are sick, and there are many others hungry for salvation.
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Bower made an appeal through the Evangel for second-hand clothing or monetary donations, especially before cooler weather arrived. By December, local churches had answered the appeal and Bryant reported,
O, how God did bless us as we put [the clothes] out, and many hearts were made glad on account of them. But we are made very sad on some occasions. As we were coming back through the mountains to the train, we passed a small cabin by the wayside. There were a number of children in the yard barefooted, bareheaded, and not enough clothes on to hide their nakedness. One of them knew me and asked me if I had any clothing to give them, and I was bound to reply, “No, I have just disposed of them all.” This is only one case among many in these mountains.
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The needs were many, and Bryant appealed for bedding, one hundred barrels of clothing, and prayers for those with whom he shared the Gospel.
From our earliest days as a movement, Church of God members embraced the responsibility to fulfill Christ’s greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself ” (Matthew 22:37, 39 NIV). Helping individuals to grow spiritually, have an intimate relationship with Christ, and aspire to purity of lifestyle often requires first meeting their physical needs.
From our earliest days as a movement, Church of God members embraced the responsibility to fulfill Christ’s greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself ” (Matthew 22:37, 39 NIV). Helping individuals to grow spiritually, have an intimate relationship with Christ, and aspire to purity of lifestyle often requires first meeting their physical needs.
THE ‘PENNY MARCH’ AND ‘BIRTHDAY OFFERING’
On March 12, 1921, the Evangel published a letter from Bertha Jackson Bloomingdale of Calhoun, Georgia, noting a method for receiving offerings that quickly became a Church of God tradition—the “penny march.” Bloomingdale wrote, “We have a small Sunday school in our little cottage room; the children come and bring their pennies, nickels and dimes to put in the box for the orphanage.” Church of God members did not yet have an organized church at Calhoun, but the Deal family provided a room in their house for services. In that simple setting, the earliest-known penny march for the Church of God Orphanage began.
The penny march was not unique to the Church of God, but the practice spread throughout the denomination. Individuals, young and old, placed coins in an offering plate or box as they “marched” in for the morning service following Sunday school. Interestingly, Bertha Bloomingdale became an evangelist, and with her husband, George, served as missionaries to Canada, where they established a church on Prince Edward Island. In early 1932, Bertha contracted a cold after going out into the winter chill to collect money for a new church building, and she died in May. The children, needing more care than their father could provide, were placed in the Home for Children—the same institution for which their mother had organized a “penny march” a decade earlier. In addition to the “penny march,” another tradition for receiving donations for the orphanage is the “birthday offering.” When James Wylie Sr. was pastor of the Maison Fork Church near Berea, Kentucky, he became burdened for orphans. He later remembered, “One day as I was working in the cornfield, God spoke to my heart and said, |
‘Why don’t you start a birthday offering—a penny for each year old—for the support of the orphans.’” Wylie gave his first birthday offering and encouraged others to do the same. When 80 years old in 1964, Wylie reported through the Evangel, “I paid my birthday offering of eighty-one-cents as I always pay one cent extra.”
Through the years, many congregations adopted the “penny march” and “birthday offering,” and a century later, Church of God members continue to give generously and fulfill their commitment to care for children in need. |
Practical Holiness for the Whole Person
Church of God beliefs are aligned with those of the broader Wesleyan-Holiness Movement, which abounds with benevolence ministries. Many early Church of God members came from churches embracing social programs, such as caring for orphans, feeding the needy, and providing shelter to troubled youth. They brought this mission with them and implemented similar programs through local congregations, helping to create a culture of compassion and care.
In the early years of the Holiness Movement various missions scattered throughout the United States ministered to the downtrodden and needy. Healing homes offered the ill a place to study the Bible, pray and seek the Lord; and some local churches found ways to minister to alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, and the homeless.
For example, Ida Armstrong operated a rescue home at Cincinnati, Ohio, but gave it up when she joined the Church of God, as the home belonged to another organization. Armstrong spent the remainder of her days in ministry to the downtrodden as a Church of God evangelist.
Similarly, Flora Bower, before her 1910 ministry trip to the mountains with W. F. Bryant and others, had opened the Hephzibah Rescue Home in Tampa, Florida. She served as its superintendent for nine years. When she and many of the Home’s residents received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she was asked to resign. She then joined the Church of God as an evangelist, where she continued her ministry of benevolence.
Church of God beliefs are aligned with those of the broader Wesleyan-Holiness Movement, which abounds with benevolence ministries. Many early Church of God members came from churches embracing social programs, such as caring for orphans, feeding the needy, and providing shelter to troubled youth. They brought this mission with them and implemented similar programs through local congregations, helping to create a culture of compassion and care.
In the early years of the Holiness Movement various missions scattered throughout the United States ministered to the downtrodden and needy. Healing homes offered the ill a place to study the Bible, pray and seek the Lord; and some local churches found ways to minister to alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, and the homeless.
For example, Ida Armstrong operated a rescue home at Cincinnati, Ohio, but gave it up when she joined the Church of God, as the home belonged to another organization. Armstrong spent the remainder of her days in ministry to the downtrodden as a Church of God evangelist.
Similarly, Flora Bower, before her 1910 ministry trip to the mountains with W. F. Bryant and others, had opened the Hephzibah Rescue Home in Tampa, Florida. She served as its superintendent for nine years. When she and many of the Home’s residents received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she was asked to resign. She then joined the Church of God as an evangelist, where she continued her ministry of benevolence.
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Oklahoma’s Pentecostal Rescue Home
In 1917, Roy L. Cotnam, state overseer of Oklahoma and pastor of the local church at Sapulpa, managed the Pentecostal Rescue Home, a benevolence mission for “female outcasts, fallen and homeless adults.” Assisted by his wife, Ara, and Miss Blanche Darner, a trained nurse who also tended to the secretarial and financial matters, this home was much like those affiliated with earlier Holiness associations.
This mission was supported solely by freewill offerings and local donations. A June 1917 Evangel article appealed for financial assistance and ensured credibility of those overseeing the home. “These officers are not in this good work for the money...as they only receive $8.33 each per month for service rendered. They have sacrificed good positions and salaries to help the fallen and outcasts as there is so much of this work to do and so
few to do it.”
While the ministry was small, its impact on the lives of dozens of women was eternal. One of the women suffered from tuberculosis and died. However, as a result of the Home, she was saved, sanctified, baptized with the Holy Ghost and “went to glory rejoicing.” The demand for the ministry was so great they often were forced to turn women away. According to Cotnam, “They are tired of the old life of sin and asked assistance in leading a better life and help to the way that Jesus trod. These women asked for a different life of their own accord, but on account of insufficient room and means to keep them, they were refused for the present.” Thus, Church of God members were called upon to help support one of its earliest benevolence missions.
In 1917, Roy L. Cotnam, state overseer of Oklahoma and pastor of the local church at Sapulpa, managed the Pentecostal Rescue Home, a benevolence mission for “female outcasts, fallen and homeless adults.” Assisted by his wife, Ara, and Miss Blanche Darner, a trained nurse who also tended to the secretarial and financial matters, this home was much like those affiliated with earlier Holiness associations.
This mission was supported solely by freewill offerings and local donations. A June 1917 Evangel article appealed for financial assistance and ensured credibility of those overseeing the home. “These officers are not in this good work for the money...as they only receive $8.33 each per month for service rendered. They have sacrificed good positions and salaries to help the fallen and outcasts as there is so much of this work to do and so
few to do it.”
While the ministry was small, its impact on the lives of dozens of women was eternal. One of the women suffered from tuberculosis and died. However, as a result of the Home, she was saved, sanctified, baptized with the Holy Ghost and “went to glory rejoicing.” The demand for the ministry was so great they often were forced to turn women away. According to Cotnam, “They are tired of the old life of sin and asked assistance in leading a better life and help to the way that Jesus trod. These women asked for a different life of their own accord, but on account of insufficient room and means to keep them, they were refused for the present.” Thus, Church of God members were called upon to help support one of its earliest benevolence missions.
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Evangelism as Social Ministry
During this same time, Ida Mae Lopez Hadsock helped prostitutes and the homeless find a new way of life during her ministry travels in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Having joined the Church of God in 1913 at Chokoloskee, Florida, she became an evangelist after God healed her from an eight-month illness. The Chokoloskee congregation funded her early ministry travels, and she always connected her ministry of helping women find freedom in Christ with the local churches where she lived until her death in 1960.
Similarly, many women have been rescued from the entrapment of prostitution through the ministry of the Church of God in Colorado since the 1980s, when Pastor Kelvin and Debbie Page discovered a woman standing at the door of the Rocky Mountain Church of God parsonage in Denver. The woman was destitute, homeless, and seeking help. Hearing her story, the Pages showed her compassion, nurtured her, and helped disciple her. In time, Christ transformed her life, she married a successful businessman in the church, and she began to help rescue other women from her former lifestyle.
Ministry in the 21st century has seen an increased awareness of human-trafficking. Numerous local congregations financially and prayerfully support the ministries and ministers seeking to rescue women, men, and children from sexual exploitation. Becky Burdashaw, an ordained minister in Chicago whose ministry focus helps combat the evil of human-trafficking, recently authored the book, Exploitation to Restoration, which Women’s Discipleship published to help local churches recognize and minister healing to men and women who have been sexually abused.
During the height of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Mount Paran Church in Atlanta, Georgia, experienced rapid growth among the “Hippie Generation,” including those whose recreational use of illegal drugs left them addicted and in need of inner healing. As a result, Pastor Paul L. Walker established a counseling ministry within the church led by trained staff members and volunteers. Through the years, the counseling services became a source of hope and healing to many in Atlanta struggling with the effects of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse, divorce, AIDS, and low self-image. Mount Paran Central in Atlanta and Mount Paran North in nearby Marietta continue to offer these important services.
During this same time, Ida Mae Lopez Hadsock helped prostitutes and the homeless find a new way of life during her ministry travels in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Having joined the Church of God in 1913 at Chokoloskee, Florida, she became an evangelist after God healed her from an eight-month illness. The Chokoloskee congregation funded her early ministry travels, and she always connected her ministry of helping women find freedom in Christ with the local churches where she lived until her death in 1960.
Similarly, many women have been rescued from the entrapment of prostitution through the ministry of the Church of God in Colorado since the 1980s, when Pastor Kelvin and Debbie Page discovered a woman standing at the door of the Rocky Mountain Church of God parsonage in Denver. The woman was destitute, homeless, and seeking help. Hearing her story, the Pages showed her compassion, nurtured her, and helped disciple her. In time, Christ transformed her life, she married a successful businessman in the church, and she began to help rescue other women from her former lifestyle.
Ministry in the 21st century has seen an increased awareness of human-trafficking. Numerous local congregations financially and prayerfully support the ministries and ministers seeking to rescue women, men, and children from sexual exploitation. Becky Burdashaw, an ordained minister in Chicago whose ministry focus helps combat the evil of human-trafficking, recently authored the book, Exploitation to Restoration, which Women’s Discipleship published to help local churches recognize and minister healing to men and women who have been sexually abused.
During the height of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Mount Paran Church in Atlanta, Georgia, experienced rapid growth among the “Hippie Generation,” including those whose recreational use of illegal drugs left them addicted and in need of inner healing. As a result, Pastor Paul L. Walker established a counseling ministry within the church led by trained staff members and volunteers. Through the years, the counseling services became a source of hope and healing to many in Atlanta struggling with the effects of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse, divorce, AIDS, and low self-image. Mount Paran Central in Atlanta and Mount Paran North in nearby Marietta continue to offer these important services.
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Sharing Christ Through Compassion in Chicago
During the economic crisis of the 1930s, numerous local churches reached out to their communities by providing food and clothing to those in need. One example is the Narragansett Church near Chicago, which Amelia Shumaker established in October 1929, only 15 days before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression.
Five years before moving to Chicago, Shumaker’s evangelist husband was shot and killed by a drunken opponent of the Pentecostal faith. Devastated, Shumaker moved to Monroe, Louisiana, where the compassionate ministry of Church of God members comforted her and provided her food and shelter. Moved by their compassion, she joined the Church of God in May 1925 as an evangelist.
For the next few years, she conducted tent meetings, street services, and home prayer meetings in Louisiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin before planting and pastoring a church at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Numerous workers assisted her, including Martha Zimmerlin, a pianist from Illinois.
Shumaker sensed the Holy Spirit leading her to Chicago. She and Zimmerlin arrived in the Windy City in May 1929 and immediately began home prayer meetings. They soon secured a storefront building and founded the Narragansett Church of God—the denomination’s first congregation in Chicago—with 10 members.
The stock market’s crash devastated Chicago—unemployment, hunger, and hopelessness abounded. Shumaker then understood God’s providence in leading her there. The compassionate ministry she experienced in Louisiana after her husband’s murder became her model to reach Chicago’s hurting families.
The Narragansett congregation began meeting physical needs of community residents through serving warm meals, providing clothing, and distributing groceries, which provided an opportunity to share the message of Christ’s salvation. They organized a Sunday school to provide basic biblical training, and Shumaker continued to preach and see individuals transformed spiritually. In time, the local church planted four more congregations in other areas of Chicago. Numerous ministers were set forth, and other congregations adopted this model of compassionate ministry.
During the economic crisis of the 1930s, numerous local churches reached out to their communities by providing food and clothing to those in need. One example is the Narragansett Church near Chicago, which Amelia Shumaker established in October 1929, only 15 days before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression.
Five years before moving to Chicago, Shumaker’s evangelist husband was shot and killed by a drunken opponent of the Pentecostal faith. Devastated, Shumaker moved to Monroe, Louisiana, where the compassionate ministry of Church of God members comforted her and provided her food and shelter. Moved by their compassion, she joined the Church of God in May 1925 as an evangelist.
For the next few years, she conducted tent meetings, street services, and home prayer meetings in Louisiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin before planting and pastoring a church at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Numerous workers assisted her, including Martha Zimmerlin, a pianist from Illinois.
Shumaker sensed the Holy Spirit leading her to Chicago. She and Zimmerlin arrived in the Windy City in May 1929 and immediately began home prayer meetings. They soon secured a storefront building and founded the Narragansett Church of God—the denomination’s first congregation in Chicago—with 10 members.
The stock market’s crash devastated Chicago—unemployment, hunger, and hopelessness abounded. Shumaker then understood God’s providence in leading her there. The compassionate ministry she experienced in Louisiana after her husband’s murder became her model to reach Chicago’s hurting families.
The Narragansett congregation began meeting physical needs of community residents through serving warm meals, providing clothing, and distributing groceries, which provided an opportunity to share the message of Christ’s salvation. They organized a Sunday school to provide basic biblical training, and Shumaker continued to preach and see individuals transformed spiritually. In time, the local church planted four more congregations in other areas of Chicago. Numerous ministers were set forth, and other congregations adopted this model of compassionate ministry.
Hot Meals in Wartime California
Through the years, countless local churches have helped provide food, clothing, and other services in their communities. In 1941, E. L. Mitchell and his wife held a revival at Sacramento, California, and then remained to assist the local Church of God congregation with its benevolence ministry. There weren’t enough members to have an organized church, but the congregation’s outreach was active—serving almost 200 meals daily and assisting with job placement for the unemployed. “Brother Ellis” donated his full attention to the kitchen free of charge, but “to see him at his post of duty you would think he was well paid—happy, contented, ready to do anything.” Mitchell, busy pastoring the local mission and overseeing the community outreach, testified through the Evangel, “The Lord supplies every meal, utility bill, building rent, clothes for the needy and clothes for our help. We stay open on faith.”
Through the years, countless local churches have helped provide food, clothing, and other services in their communities. In 1941, E. L. Mitchell and his wife held a revival at Sacramento, California, and then remained to assist the local Church of God congregation with its benevolence ministry. There weren’t enough members to have an organized church, but the congregation’s outreach was active—serving almost 200 meals daily and assisting with job placement for the unemployed. “Brother Ellis” donated his full attention to the kitchen free of charge, but “to see him at his post of duty you would think he was well paid—happy, contented, ready to do anything.” Mitchell, busy pastoring the local mission and overseeing the community outreach, testified through the Evangel, “The Lord supplies every meal, utility bill, building rent, clothes for the needy and clothes for our help. We stay open on faith.”
Feeding the Needy in Cartersville, Georgia
A more recent example is “Feed the Needy” ministry, which began in 1989 through the vision of Ralph and Vivian McCary, church members at Cartersville, Georgia. The ministry started in a 12’ x 12’ room and soon became known as Harvest House, which housed a food pantry serving about 10 families. In the early 1990s, the ministry relocated into an old farmhouse and assisted more than 50 families. Grants from the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia along with partnerships with local grocery chains and schools helped the ministry expand its reach throughout Cartersville and Bartow County. Presently, church member Jack Howell directs Harvest House with a team of more than 40 volunteers. Through this ministry, the Church at Liberty Square in Cartersville serves an average of 120 families each week, with as many as 250 families receiving assistance some weeks. Pastor Jacob T. King explains that each family who comes through the door of Harvest House has an opportunity to receive prayer and hear the gospel, and the congregation remains committed to the original vision of feeding and ministering to the hungry as they actively share the love of Jesus.
A more recent example is “Feed the Needy” ministry, which began in 1989 through the vision of Ralph and Vivian McCary, church members at Cartersville, Georgia. The ministry started in a 12’ x 12’ room and soon became known as Harvest House, which housed a food pantry serving about 10 families. In the early 1990s, the ministry relocated into an old farmhouse and assisted more than 50 families. Grants from the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia along with partnerships with local grocery chains and schools helped the ministry expand its reach throughout Cartersville and Bartow County. Presently, church member Jack Howell directs Harvest House with a team of more than 40 volunteers. Through this ministry, the Church at Liberty Square in Cartersville serves an average of 120 families each week, with as many as 250 families receiving assistance some weeks. Pastor Jacob T. King explains that each family who comes through the door of Harvest House has an opportunity to receive prayer and hear the gospel, and the congregation remains committed to the original vision of feeding and ministering to the hungry as they actively share the love of Jesus.
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A Dream Center for Appalachia
Local churches increasingly are adopting a holistic approach to social ministry. One example is the beginning of the Appalachian Dream Center, which story is shared in Wet Eyes & Caring Hands: The Intersection of Prayer & Compassion, edited by P. Douglas Small.
Pastor Michael Hartwell’s earliest connection with this type of benevolence ministry began when he was an eager church member and Pastor T. L. Sizemore placed him in charge of the food pantry at the Maybeury, West Virginia, Church. Later, when Pastor Hartwell accepted his first pastoral appointment at Bluewell, West Virginia, his family lived in the church basement and relied significantly on food gifts from church members and others. It was there he and his family personally experienced the blessing of the food outreach ministry of Dr. John Gregory and others.
When Pastor Hartwell began pastoring in Logan County, West Virginia, he led the church to begin a Meals-on-Wheels program to provide food for elderly residents, and local members renovated the fellowship hall to expand the feeding ministry. Many of these efforts were in fulfillment of the vision of Michael’s wife, Donna, before her death. Donna wished to create a facility to minister to the poor and needy in Appalachia. Eventually, Hartwell partnered with David Lorency and the local ministry developed into the Appalachian Dream Center. The ministry was given a 40,000 square foot facility in Holden, West Virginia. In coordination with Operation Compassion, the Appalachian Dream Center provides weekly food distribution and a free medical clinic. The ministry partners with other groups to provide disaster relief, clothing, home repair, Christmas toys, counseling programs, and other forms of assistance. Too, the ministry helps those in Appalachia better engage with the Scriptures through the distribution of Bibles of various translations provided by the American Bible Society.
Today, Pastor Hartwell and his wife, Darlene, pastor the Verdunville Church of God in West Virginia, which serves as the “staging post” for the Appalachian Dream Center. He explains, “At an earlier time in my life, I wanted to curl up and quit, but God was calling me and this church out of its pre-occupation, to engage a hurting and needy world.” As a result of that faithfulness to God’s call, today thousands throughout Appalachia receive assistance as an expression of God’s love and compassion.
Local churches increasingly are adopting a holistic approach to social ministry. One example is the beginning of the Appalachian Dream Center, which story is shared in Wet Eyes & Caring Hands: The Intersection of Prayer & Compassion, edited by P. Douglas Small.
Pastor Michael Hartwell’s earliest connection with this type of benevolence ministry began when he was an eager church member and Pastor T. L. Sizemore placed him in charge of the food pantry at the Maybeury, West Virginia, Church. Later, when Pastor Hartwell accepted his first pastoral appointment at Bluewell, West Virginia, his family lived in the church basement and relied significantly on food gifts from church members and others. It was there he and his family personally experienced the blessing of the food outreach ministry of Dr. John Gregory and others.
When Pastor Hartwell began pastoring in Logan County, West Virginia, he led the church to begin a Meals-on-Wheels program to provide food for elderly residents, and local members renovated the fellowship hall to expand the feeding ministry. Many of these efforts were in fulfillment of the vision of Michael’s wife, Donna, before her death. Donna wished to create a facility to minister to the poor and needy in Appalachia. Eventually, Hartwell partnered with David Lorency and the local ministry developed into the Appalachian Dream Center. The ministry was given a 40,000 square foot facility in Holden, West Virginia. In coordination with Operation Compassion, the Appalachian Dream Center provides weekly food distribution and a free medical clinic. The ministry partners with other groups to provide disaster relief, clothing, home repair, Christmas toys, counseling programs, and other forms of assistance. Too, the ministry helps those in Appalachia better engage with the Scriptures through the distribution of Bibles of various translations provided by the American Bible Society.
Today, Pastor Hartwell and his wife, Darlene, pastor the Verdunville Church of God in West Virginia, which serves as the “staging post” for the Appalachian Dream Center. He explains, “At an earlier time in my life, I wanted to curl up and quit, but God was calling me and this church out of its pre-occupation, to engage a hurting and needy world.” As a result of that faithfulness to God’s call, today thousands throughout Appalachia receive assistance as an expression of God’s love and compassion.
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Meeting Needs Along the Eastern Shore
In Maryland, the Pathway Church has led a ministry of compassion for more than twenty years. Returning to his hometown of Brooklyn, Maryland, in 1999, Billy Humphrey volunteered at his home church and helped start a food pantry in 2000. Three years later Humphrey became Pathway’s pastor and expanded the benevolence ministry to include clothing distribution, referrals, and a soup kitchen. The ministry is centered in the neighborhood of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay on the south side of Baltimore—one of the most violent cities in America where almost 40 percent of residents live at or below the Federal Poverty Level. With a 15 percent unemployment rate, more than half of the neighborhood children live in single-parent homes and 48 percent of children live in poverty.
The ministry became known as the Baltimore Dream Center, and by 2017, was reaching hundreds of people. In March 2018 they rebranded as City of Refuge Baltimore (CORB) to expand the ministry. Today, they serve more than 2,000 households (or almost 6,000 people) weekly and 15,000 unique persons annually through five areas of impact: food, housing, workforce development, youth empowerment, and anti-human trafficking.
Along with the food pantry and soup kitchen, CORB now provides services to the homeless, including transitional housing; life and leadership training to assist with developing job skills; an after-school program, camps, and classes for youth; and a street outreach and long-term rehabilitation program for victims of human trafficking. Among the team of dedicated volunteers are men and women whose lives have been transformed by Christ and the help they received through the benevolence ministry of Pathway Church.
In Maryland, the Pathway Church has led a ministry of compassion for more than twenty years. Returning to his hometown of Brooklyn, Maryland, in 1999, Billy Humphrey volunteered at his home church and helped start a food pantry in 2000. Three years later Humphrey became Pathway’s pastor and expanded the benevolence ministry to include clothing distribution, referrals, and a soup kitchen. The ministry is centered in the neighborhood of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay on the south side of Baltimore—one of the most violent cities in America where almost 40 percent of residents live at or below the Federal Poverty Level. With a 15 percent unemployment rate, more than half of the neighborhood children live in single-parent homes and 48 percent of children live in poverty.
The ministry became known as the Baltimore Dream Center, and by 2017, was reaching hundreds of people. In March 2018 they rebranded as City of Refuge Baltimore (CORB) to expand the ministry. Today, they serve more than 2,000 households (or almost 6,000 people) weekly and 15,000 unique persons annually through five areas of impact: food, housing, workforce development, youth empowerment, and anti-human trafficking.
Along with the food pantry and soup kitchen, CORB now provides services to the homeless, including transitional housing; life and leadership training to assist with developing job skills; an after-school program, camps, and classes for youth; and a street outreach and long-term rehabilitation program for victims of human trafficking. Among the team of dedicated volunteers are men and women whose lives have been transformed by Christ and the help they received through the benevolence ministry of Pathway Church.
A Refuge Along the Border
In El Paso, Texas, the El Elyon Church of God offers a ministry of hospitality to migrants apprehended along the Rio Grande River that separates Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from the United States. When migrants are released by immigration officials to await their court dates, they have an immediate need for food and shelter. At the U.S. Government’s request, Pastor Maribel Velazquez and her husband, Osbaldo, stepped out in faith amid difficult challenges to lead the El Elyon congregation in following Christ’s example to welcome and serve those in need. “We had no money, we had nothing, we just had to do whatever we had to do to help them survive, especially the babies,” explained Pastor Maribel Velazquez. The local church facilities have been transformed to include rows of cots and needed supplies as more than sixty people per day are fed and housed. As a refuge for displaced people along the Southern border, El Elyon Church has shared the love of Christ with tens of thousands by providing immediate services such as clothing, food, and shelter for people coming from the detention centers until they are reunited with their families.
In El Paso, Texas, the El Elyon Church of God offers a ministry of hospitality to migrants apprehended along the Rio Grande River that separates Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from the United States. When migrants are released by immigration officials to await their court dates, they have an immediate need for food and shelter. At the U.S. Government’s request, Pastor Maribel Velazquez and her husband, Osbaldo, stepped out in faith amid difficult challenges to lead the El Elyon congregation in following Christ’s example to welcome and serve those in need. “We had no money, we had nothing, we just had to do whatever we had to do to help them survive, especially the babies,” explained Pastor Maribel Velazquez. The local church facilities have been transformed to include rows of cots and needed supplies as more than sixty people per day are fed and housed. As a refuge for displaced people along the Southern border, El Elyon Church has shared the love of Christ with tens of thousands by providing immediate services such as clothing, food, and shelter for people coming from the detention centers until they are reunited with their families.
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A Trunk Full of Compassion
On most any given day, Pastor Frank Allen can be found living out his call as a missionary to the poor. He has been involved with benevolence ministry for more than 30 years—eventually relocating with his family in 1992 to the inner city of Norfolk, Virginia, to begin HOPE. Pastor Allen began the ministry by providing food from the trunk of his car and then serving hot soup, clothing, and hygiene supplies. Through the years, Pastor Allen has given sacrificially while leading a team of volunteers in following Christ’s example to serve the poor and marginalized by providing direct services and resources to improve and transform the physical, mental, and spiritual conditions of those living in the violent and neglected inner-city. As a strong social justice ministry with a mission “to change the fabric of the inner city, and beyond, one child at a time,” HOPE focuses on serving the “whole person”—body, mind, and spirit from a Holiness, Pentecostal worldview. HOPE builds its code of conduct and social justice manifesto on the Church of God Practical Commitments and denominational resolutions relating to social and moral issues. HOPE seeks to bring authentic hope to hopeless children and to strengthen struggling families. While it enjoys some global ministry reach, HOPE remains committed to live among and serve the poor from the same corner, in the same inner-city where they were planted, cultivated, and nurtured as missionaries to the poor by the Church of God. And it all began with Pastor Allen serving food to the homeless and needy from the trunk of his car.
On most any given day, Pastor Frank Allen can be found living out his call as a missionary to the poor. He has been involved with benevolence ministry for more than 30 years—eventually relocating with his family in 1992 to the inner city of Norfolk, Virginia, to begin HOPE. Pastor Allen began the ministry by providing food from the trunk of his car and then serving hot soup, clothing, and hygiene supplies. Through the years, Pastor Allen has given sacrificially while leading a team of volunteers in following Christ’s example to serve the poor and marginalized by providing direct services and resources to improve and transform the physical, mental, and spiritual conditions of those living in the violent and neglected inner-city. As a strong social justice ministry with a mission “to change the fabric of the inner city, and beyond, one child at a time,” HOPE focuses on serving the “whole person”—body, mind, and spirit from a Holiness, Pentecostal worldview. HOPE builds its code of conduct and social justice manifesto on the Church of God Practical Commitments and denominational resolutions relating to social and moral issues. HOPE seeks to bring authentic hope to hopeless children and to strengthen struggling families. While it enjoys some global ministry reach, HOPE remains committed to live among and serve the poor from the same corner, in the same inner-city where they were planted, cultivated, and nurtured as missionaries to the poor by the Church of God. And it all began with Pastor Allen serving food to the homeless and needy from the trunk of his car.
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Rescue, Relief, and Restoration in Western Kentucky
In December 2021, record-breaking tornadoes left more than 200 miles of devastation and loss across Kentucky—from Mayfield to Bowling Green. The 1,300-member Covenant Community Church in Madisonville, Kentucky, immediately mobilized 400 volunteers within two days and served as the central command center for the distribution of finances, goods, and services to the affected areas. Senior Pastor Michael Knight led the rescue and relief efforts and fundraising campaign. Initial donations from well-known churches, such as Lakewood (pastored by Joel Osteen), Free Chapel (pastored by Jentezen Franklin), Seven Hills (pastored by Marcus Mecum), and Stevens Creek (pastored by Marty Baker), were followed by contributions from hundreds of congregations, ministries, and corporations across America, including the Church of God. More than $300,000 was raised and distributed to provide initial relief to the tornado victims.
Helpful in this effort was the Western Kentucky Dream Center, which launched in March 2021 as a cooperative effort supported by 18 area Church of God pastors and is directed by Adam Young and Michael Knight. As a result of the preparedness of the Dream Center and Covenant Community Church, points of distribution and ministry teams were able to quickly provide much needed relief in the emergency situation. Then, as the process shifted from relief to recovery, partnerships were formed with three other organizations: The United Cajun Navy, Operation Compassion, and Men and Women of Action. In the months that followed, the local church remained committed to helping victims receive needed care as it hosted an additional 300 people each week as part of clean-up and construction crews and counseling services. As a ministry of compassion, Covenant Community Church entered into the pain of thousands of people and shared the love of Christ through practical assistance.
In December 2021, record-breaking tornadoes left more than 200 miles of devastation and loss across Kentucky—from Mayfield to Bowling Green. The 1,300-member Covenant Community Church in Madisonville, Kentucky, immediately mobilized 400 volunteers within two days and served as the central command center for the distribution of finances, goods, and services to the affected areas. Senior Pastor Michael Knight led the rescue and relief efforts and fundraising campaign. Initial donations from well-known churches, such as Lakewood (pastored by Joel Osteen), Free Chapel (pastored by Jentezen Franklin), Seven Hills (pastored by Marcus Mecum), and Stevens Creek (pastored by Marty Baker), were followed by contributions from hundreds of congregations, ministries, and corporations across America, including the Church of God. More than $300,000 was raised and distributed to provide initial relief to the tornado victims.
Helpful in this effort was the Western Kentucky Dream Center, which launched in March 2021 as a cooperative effort supported by 18 area Church of God pastors and is directed by Adam Young and Michael Knight. As a result of the preparedness of the Dream Center and Covenant Community Church, points of distribution and ministry teams were able to quickly provide much needed relief in the emergency situation. Then, as the process shifted from relief to recovery, partnerships were formed with three other organizations: The United Cajun Navy, Operation Compassion, and Men and Women of Action. In the months that followed, the local church remained committed to helping victims receive needed care as it hosted an additional 300 people each week as part of clean-up and construction crews and counseling services. As a ministry of compassion, Covenant Community Church entered into the pain of thousands of people and shared the love of Christ through practical assistance.
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Reaching ‘Castaways’ in the Nation’s Capital
Since 1981, Pastor Brenda Anderson has invested her life ministering to the forgotten in the inner city of the nation’s capital. Four years prior, she found herself at Central Avenue Church of God in Washington, D.C. where Asbury Sellers was pastor. A product of a rough life in the inner city and an alcoholic from her teen years, she was a young mother who spent her days getting high on illegal drugs. Having dropped out of school in the 7th grade, she couldn’t read and had limited understanding of Jesus Christ. Intrigued by God’s love evident among the Central Avenue congregation, she surrendered her life to Christ in 1978 at age 21 and was sanctified and baptized with the Holy Spirit within the year. Pastor Anderson experienced authentic transformation and has become a vessel through whom God transforms the lives of countless others.
As Christ filled every part of her life, Pastor Anderson began to overcome her challenges. She learned to read—ultimately completing a GED and graduating with both the bachelor and master’s degrees— and began teaching a Bible study. Her prayer life focused on people needing deliverance, and by 1981, she sensed God calling her to inner city ministry.
Pastor Anderson began Compel Them Street Ministry as an outreach of Central Avenue Church. Although not a licensed minister at that time, for 15 years she faithfully preached on the street corners, prayed with hurting individuals, and led men and women to Christ in some of the most violent areas of the city. Then, in 1996, she sensed God directing her to “house the ministry.”
Pastor Anderson was led by the Holy Spirit to stand outside a methadone center, where addicts received the drug methadone to help them wean off heroin. She and others prayed and ministered to people as they entered and left the center while drug dealers often sold drugs on the corner across the street. In time, several individuals accepted Christ, including some of the drug dealers, and the director of the clinic invited Pastor Anderson to begin a Bible study, which she led at the center for four years.
Then, in 1999, Pastor Anderson organized Victory Praise Church of God, a diverse congregation of recovering and struggling addicts and individuals HIV-positive and with AIDS. Committed to minister to whomever God sent her way or allowed her path to cross, she quickly understood this local church was “the last stop before eternity for many people.” The street ministry transitioned to Compel Them Outreach as an extension of Victory Praise Church.
Pastor Anderson is adept at networking, particularly with area food banks and other local churches that assist with the benevolence ministry. Through collaboration with denominational leaders, the local church has become an educational site where church members from other states travel to D.C. to engage in “hands-on” inner-city ministry. The feeding program typically provides meals for a shelter and may serve more than 100 people at a meal.
Now an ordained minister with the Church of God, a past member of the Evangelism Board for Delmarva-D.C., and pastor of Victory Praise Church, Pastor Anderson remains committed to inner-city ministry. She still can be found on the streets handing out warm blankets, clothing, hygiene materials, and a hot meal to the homeless as she seeks to reach those whom many feel are unreachable. “In God’s eyes everyone is valuable. I was one of those castaways—one of those who shouldn’t have made it. My past had canceled me out by age 13, but then Christ found me,” she explains. “If God can do it for me, He can do it for anybody.... All of us are called to an arena of ministry and God will make opportunities for us. We just have to avail ourselves of the opportunities God has called us to. My agenda is to win souls for the Kingdom of God and to develop and equip people—believers—to go out and do what God called them to do.”
For more than a century, Church of God congregations and members have responded with compassion to the needs within local communities, expressing the love of God in a transformative way. These stories are a small representation of the many ministries of compassion and care that reflect our commitment to live out our faith according to Christ’s commands to love God and our neighbor.
Since 1981, Pastor Brenda Anderson has invested her life ministering to the forgotten in the inner city of the nation’s capital. Four years prior, she found herself at Central Avenue Church of God in Washington, D.C. where Asbury Sellers was pastor. A product of a rough life in the inner city and an alcoholic from her teen years, she was a young mother who spent her days getting high on illegal drugs. Having dropped out of school in the 7th grade, she couldn’t read and had limited understanding of Jesus Christ. Intrigued by God’s love evident among the Central Avenue congregation, she surrendered her life to Christ in 1978 at age 21 and was sanctified and baptized with the Holy Spirit within the year. Pastor Anderson experienced authentic transformation and has become a vessel through whom God transforms the lives of countless others.
As Christ filled every part of her life, Pastor Anderson began to overcome her challenges. She learned to read—ultimately completing a GED and graduating with both the bachelor and master’s degrees— and began teaching a Bible study. Her prayer life focused on people needing deliverance, and by 1981, she sensed God calling her to inner city ministry.
Pastor Anderson began Compel Them Street Ministry as an outreach of Central Avenue Church. Although not a licensed minister at that time, for 15 years she faithfully preached on the street corners, prayed with hurting individuals, and led men and women to Christ in some of the most violent areas of the city. Then, in 1996, she sensed God directing her to “house the ministry.”
Pastor Anderson was led by the Holy Spirit to stand outside a methadone center, where addicts received the drug methadone to help them wean off heroin. She and others prayed and ministered to people as they entered and left the center while drug dealers often sold drugs on the corner across the street. In time, several individuals accepted Christ, including some of the drug dealers, and the director of the clinic invited Pastor Anderson to begin a Bible study, which she led at the center for four years.
Then, in 1999, Pastor Anderson organized Victory Praise Church of God, a diverse congregation of recovering and struggling addicts and individuals HIV-positive and with AIDS. Committed to minister to whomever God sent her way or allowed her path to cross, she quickly understood this local church was “the last stop before eternity for many people.” The street ministry transitioned to Compel Them Outreach as an extension of Victory Praise Church.
Pastor Anderson is adept at networking, particularly with area food banks and other local churches that assist with the benevolence ministry. Through collaboration with denominational leaders, the local church has become an educational site where church members from other states travel to D.C. to engage in “hands-on” inner-city ministry. The feeding program typically provides meals for a shelter and may serve more than 100 people at a meal.
Now an ordained minister with the Church of God, a past member of the Evangelism Board for Delmarva-D.C., and pastor of Victory Praise Church, Pastor Anderson remains committed to inner-city ministry. She still can be found on the streets handing out warm blankets, clothing, hygiene materials, and a hot meal to the homeless as she seeks to reach those whom many feel are unreachable. “In God’s eyes everyone is valuable. I was one of those castaways—one of those who shouldn’t have made it. My past had canceled me out by age 13, but then Christ found me,” she explains. “If God can do it for me, He can do it for anybody.... All of us are called to an arena of ministry and God will make opportunities for us. We just have to avail ourselves of the opportunities God has called us to. My agenda is to win souls for the Kingdom of God and to develop and equip people—believers—to go out and do what God called them to do.”
For more than a century, Church of God congregations and members have responded with compassion to the needs within local communities, expressing the love of God in a transformative way. These stories are a small representation of the many ministries of compassion and care that reflect our commitment to live out our faith according to Christ’s commands to love God and our neighbor.
AMAMOS A NUESTROS VECINOS
Desde el principio nuestras congregaciones han ejercido ministerios de benevolencia que transmiten el amor de Dios a sus comunidades. En el 1910, W.F. Bryant y Flora Bower dirigieron a un grupo de creyentes de dos iglesias en un viaje de entrega de ropa en el interior de las montañas. El matrimonio de Ida y Bower Armstrong vino a la Iglesia de Dios con una vasta experiencia de servicio en refugios y combinaron la benevolencia con su obra de evangelización. Asimismo, en el 1917 el supervisor de Oklahoma, pastor Roy Cotnam, fundó un refugio. En el 1929, Amelia Shumaker abrió la Iglesia de Narragansett en Chicago para suplir las necesidades de la comunidad en medio de la gran depresión. Miembros de la Iglesia de Dios le habían ministrado después del asesinato de su esposo, por lo que decidió unirse a la denominación como evangelista.
Otros ejemplos de benevolencia son el ministerio de la Iglesia de Dios de Monte Paran en la ciudad de Atlanta durante la generación hippie. La Iglesia de Dios de las Rocallosas en Colorado abrió un albergue para mujeres que dejaban la prostitución. En Cartersville, Georgia, Holden, West Virginia y Baltimore, Maryland, encontramos ministerios que alimentan, capacitan y suplen otras necesidades humanas. Hoy en día, Becky Burshaw combate la trata de personas con su libro, Exploitation to Restoration; mientras que la Iglesia de Dios El Elyon en El Paso, Texas, es un centro de ayuda para migrantes.
Otros ejemplos de benevolencia son el ministerio de la Iglesia de Dios de Monte Paran en la ciudad de Atlanta durante la generación hippie. La Iglesia de Dios de las Rocallosas en Colorado abrió un albergue para mujeres que dejaban la prostitución. En Cartersville, Georgia, Holden, West Virginia y Baltimore, Maryland, encontramos ministerios que alimentan, capacitan y suplen otras necesidades humanas. Hoy en día, Becky Burshaw combate la trata de personas con su libro, Exploitation to Restoration; mientras que la Iglesia de Dios El Elyon en El Paso, Texas, es un centro de ayuda para migrantes.
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Louis F. Morgan, Ph.D., is professor and director of Library Services at Lee University.