Published: Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2009 02:15 PM
Church's goal is feeding 5,000 families
INDIAN LAND --
Five thousand people in need will have a Thanksgiving dinner this year thanks to the church members at Higher Ground Church in Indian Land.
The church is planning its second annual Feed 5,000 program, designed to give Thanksgiving meals to Lancaster County families who otherwise might have little to eat.
The program began last year after Pastor Steve Jacks preached a sermon about feeding the multitudes. He felt a calling from God to put his words into action, said Kathy Jacks, the pastor's wife and the church's youth leader.
“The Lord just laid on his heart to do that, and he said ‘OK Lord, I guess we can pull it off with your help,'” Kathy Jacks said. “It was a God thing.”
And pull it off they did. Though they only began in early September last year, the church managed to put together 1,000 boxes of food with each box designed to feed a family of five.
They plan to do the same this year.
Organizers of the program have decided on a Thanksgiving menu that is nonperishable, easily packed into boxes and can be assembled by families who may not have typical kitchen equipment or refrigerators. The meal includes a canned ham, corn, green beans, yams, bread and a mix for making cobbler. Also tucked within each box is a New Testament and a plan of salvation.
Higher Ground Church is asking that anyone interested in helping them feed 5,000 people this Thanksgiving drop off or mail financial donations.
The donations will be used to purchase food in bulk, Jacks said.
Church members will gather at Higher Ground Church during the third week of October to pack the boxes. The boxes will then be distributed by Lancaster County agencies – including the Department of Social Services and the Lancaster County Council on Aging – that can identify which families are in need, Jacks said.
Last year, Jacks said, the church was surprised to receive thank you notes from several families the Feed 5,000 program served.
“So, as we would get those cards in, the pastor would read them to the congregation and that was their way of knowing that, ‘Hey we made a difference in someone's life,'” Jacks said.
For more information on the Feed 5,000 program or if you would like to support the project financially, call the church office at 802-3189.
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