Thankful Thursday

What an amazing day Thanksgiving was! I had the incredible privilege of heading down to Hampton Park and joining a dozen or so other churches acting as one united body of Christ as we all locked arms to reach out to the needy.

Gordon Cashwell of Hope Assembly of God has organized a non-profit called Without Walls (www.withoutwallsministry.org) that is focused on bringing churches together to share the love and compassion of Jesus with those in need on the Downtown Charleston Peninsula.

Talk about a success! There were just as many volunteers as there were people who came to receive assistance. At least 400 on each side. There was just something so inspiring and amazing about looking out and seeing people from all different denominations and socio-economic backgrounds reaching out to and loving on one another. Some of the people helping were people who also needed help!

The park was set up with various stations… Blankets, clothing, coats, Bibles, flashlights, and groceries. Everyone was welcome to come and grab what they needed. After that everyone was served an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, including Edy’s Ice Cream (compliments of Edy’s as they brought a truck loaded with ice cream and handed it out). There was also a group of people sent out into the community to invite people and others that delivered dinner to people that were unable to make it because of their physical condition.

Having Thanksgiving dinner with 100’s of others out in a park was the most amazing Thanksgiving I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of. I think this is what Jesus was thinking about when He prayed for His disciples in John 17… “that they may all be one…I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Can’t wait to do this more often. God is on the move! I hope we’re ready to keep up with what He’s got planned.