For the past three years, Christmas has meant backpacks at Shelbyville First Baptist Church.
The Kentucky church stuffed 304 backpacks in a partnership with Integrated Community Ministries, where Barbara and Hilton Duncan serve as Kentucky Mission Service Corps missionaries, those who are connected to a Kentucky Baptist church and commit to serve from 9 months–2 years
Shelbyville FBC student pastor Brett Powell led the charge, raising money and organizing events that led to $8,000 for the backpacks and supplies. Everyone in the church was involved but especially the youth, who had a packing party and prayed over the backpacks.
Integrated Community Ministries is located on Rattlesnake Ridge in Stearns, Kentucky in McCreary County, one of the poorest counties in the state. The ministry also received help from churches in Atlanta and Illinois.
‘Everybody coming together’
Every bag had a blanket, toiletry items, 1–2 toys, hats, gloves, shirts and a gospel kit provided through the Kentucky Baptist Convention. They are packed with love and prayer, Powell said.
“It’s one of the things we had a tradition of doing and take a lot of pride in,” he said. “Everybody coming together to make Christmas happen for a community.”
Powell said the church raised funds all year long with golf scrambles, silent auctions, dinners and competition among Shelbyville FBC Bible Fellowship classes. He said they ordered in bulk, cutting the cost overall. Each bag has around $30 worth of material inside it.
A group of 11 loaded up vans and made the more than 3-hour drive to Stearns, where they witnessed an excited bunch of children at a party that also included Santa. It was a drive-thru system to pick up the bags, Powell said.
“We had a big ‘ol show out there,” he said. “They couldn’t open the backpacks but were very excited with eyes wide open.”
He said that anyone can learn a good lesson from packing the bags and seeing the need in an impoverished community.
“It puts things in perspective,” Powell said. “So often, especially in youth ministries, we get ‘us’ focused. The gospel is meant for us, but it was never meant to stop at us. How do we keep that going?”
Giving unto others, especially those less fortunate, is one way that Shelbyville FBC has found open doors to the gospel. Powell, who came to the church in July, said this was the third year of partnering with Integrated Community Ministries. It was arranged through KBC Missions Mobilization Coordinator Teresa Parrett, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Looking ahead
Powell said it has been an encouragement for the entire church to get behind the effort.
“We were able to set a super high goal and met it, that’s a win,” Powell said. “We set a common goal and went after it.”
Powell said the planning has already begun for next year’s backpack collection.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
