Standing in the GAP for People in Need

Love INC affiliates across the country are developing a wide array of Gap ministries to help meet unique, unmet needs. As Love INC works with people in need, it discovers gaps in services in the community – specific, ongoing needs that are not currently or sufficiently being met through agencies, government, and existing church ministries – and fills the gaps by working with churches to organize services or products to meet those needs. As churches and Christian volunteers in the Love INC network develop a Gap Ministry, new resources become readily available to help the poor.

Typically, a church provides the space to operate the Gap Ministry, and other churches in the Love INC network support the ministry by providing volunteers, services, and/or products. Love INC helps churches succeed in ministering to the poor by referring people with verified needs to the Gap Ministry and offering church members specific, manageable opportunities to meet those needs. As churches work together, they demonstrate the unity of the Body of Christ, giving a powerful testimony to their community.

At the heart of Gap Ministries is the truth that God cares about every need a person has and desires to meet each one, demonstrating His intensely personal love. As Scripture says, “And my God will meet ALL your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).

Because every community has different gaps in services to the poor, Love INC affiliates have developed a diversity of Gap Ministries. For example:

Back-to-school clothing, School supplies, Pro Bono Professional Services; Pro Bono Medical Exams; Prescription Medication Advocacy; Car Maintenance & Repair; Personal Care Items, Holiday Food Baskets; Household Items; Yard Work Assistance

Goodbyes

Love INC supporter & volunteer, Paula, & her husband are moving to Arizona. Paula helped implement the client number & set up many databases in the Love INC office. She will be missed by many.

Praying that Paula & Andre have a safe trip.

Paula & Mimi

July Needs List

There are many needs and it seems almost impossible to meet these needs, but there is one need that everyone can help meet. Every one that calls is asked if they would be willing to accept a visit from a church in their area, and most say yes. This is such a great way to show God’s love in action – to go out to their homes and pray with them.

Special thanks Central Christian Church, Christ Church of the Valley, Christ’s Harbor Church, Church of the Good Shepherd, Los Fresnos Church of Christ, Price Road Church of Christ and Love INC supporters for assistance in meeting the needs of families this past month. Please announce the needs listed below to your congregation, put in your bulletin, post on your bulletin board or display electronically prior to your services. As always - thank you, thank you, and thank you for all you do!!

Please call the Love INC office @ 233-1844 if you can help with any of the following needs. Please reference the 5 digit number listed at the end of each request/need. Also, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have or if more information is needed.

• Refrigerator – family of 5; father is on worker’s comp and their refrigerator is not cooling properly. (Southmost/Morningside area) 02G09)
• Stove – the oven and 2 burners on the stove that an elderly couple has does not work. They are on a very limited income. (Old Port Isabel Rd/Coffeeport Rd) (04D09)
• Twin beds, dresser, table & chairs – Single mom with 3 children on limited funds. (Palm Blvd/Jefferson ST) (04E09)
• Refrigerator seal & changing the way doors open on the refrigerator – a partially paralyzed woman needs the seal of her refrigerator replaced and the way the doors opened switched so she can open with her non-paralyzed hand. (Central Ave/McKenzie Rd area) [04I09]
• Sheets for a full-size bed; plate & cutlerys – a disabled man on disability income just moved into a furnished apt. (Central Blvd/Wildrose area) [05A09]
• Leaking shower – a single disabled woman has a shower that’s leaking and needs someone to possibly replace a washer. (Pace High School area) [05B09]
• Full-size bed – migrant family with 6 children back down and are in need of a bed. (Valley Baptist Hospital-Brownsville area) [06A09]
• Work - single woman recently moved back to the area and looking for work in the Brownsville-area. (06C09)
• Refrigerator – single dad of 4 in need of a refrigerator to replace the one that quit working. On limited income. (Boca Chica/Hondale area) [06D09]
• Couch, table & chairs – single mom with 5 children just moved into a new apartment and old furniture did survive the move. (Port Isabel) A couch is being donated, but needs to be picked up in San Benito& delivered to client in Pt. Isabel. [06E09]
• Table & chairs – family with 3 children just moved into an apartment from a small trailer.
• Wheelchair – dad (wife & 2 children) was injured and will be released from hospital soon. Unable to work for a while and not enough money to purchase a wheelchair. (Martin Elementary area) [07A09]
• Window unit repair – elderly widow (75 years young) has a window unit that’s not cooling. (Southmost area) [07B09]
Please call the Love INC office @ 233-1844 if you can help with any of the needs listed above. Please reference the 5 digit number listed at the end of each request/need. Also, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have or if more information is needed.

Please pray for:

- The above listed clients. Pray that they will develop a desire to know more about the Lord.

- More intake volunteers. Intake volunteers have the opportunity to pray with most of the clients who call in with needs (sometimes it is the only time they have heard someone pray with/for them).

- Office Volunteers to update the needs list, file folders, etc.

- The Love INC Board members, staff, volunteers and their families. Pray that God would bless them and give them wisdom and insight. Pray also that God would protect them and their families from the attacks of the enemy as they strive to make a difference for Christ.

Looking Into the Faces

a message from Love INC president – Robert Odom

More than 37 million people in America are poor – that’s one in every eight Americans. And the number of people living in poverty continues to grow as our country’s economy worsens. While the statistics are daunting, it’s not about the numbers – it’s about people.

At Love In the Name of Christ, more than 3,700 people in need reach out for help every day. When you look into the face of the homeless mother with young children, you see her fear and desperation. When you look into the face of the elderly woman who hasn’t eaten in two days, you see her despair. When you look into the face of the father who just received his last unemployment check, you see his anxiety. When you look into the face of the young girl who has to wear her brother’s worn hand-me downs to school you see her shame.

But there is hope, and that hope can be found in Christians – people who are striving to be Christ-like – who step I to help their neighbors in need. Their faces reflect Christ and demonstrate His care and mercy.

When you look into the face of the busy executive who volunteers to mentor an at-risk child you see compassion. When you look into the face of the mother with five children who stretches her budget to be able to donate to the local food pantry, you see grace. When you look into the face of the retired couple who spends their time helping to deliver hot meals, you see love.

Poverty in America is daunting. The human need is indescribable, innumerable and almost unbearable. But the number one way to have the greatest impact on poverty in America is through the Church. This can’t happen through a church; only through the Church. God has not allowed the colossal challenge of poverty to become bigger than His Church, which is the Body of Christ. Through His Body caring for those in need, we see His face.