mercy ministries

The needs of our community are staggering. For example, as of January 2006, Florida had over 76,000 homeless people. In Pinellas County alone, there are more than 4700 homeless people on any given day. Of these, 840 of them are children. There are only enough beds and shelters for 12% of this population. Additionally, there are 259,000 children currently being raised by their grandparents in this state for one reason or another. Many of them reside in this county. Fifty percent of these families live at or below the poverty level.

At the root of authentic faith is a heart of mercy. James reminds us of the connection between authentic faith and acts of mercy this way: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:14-17). Christ also modeled for us that loving God means having a compassionate heart toward people (Matthew 15:32-38; 25:34-36). He puts it this way in Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." To this end we seek to make the needs of others our primary concern in how we live our lives (Philippians 2:3).

As God grants us the grace we need and the means with which to work we strive to address the physical needs of those in our own congregation as well as those in our community to the best of our ability. We currently offer food through our food bank to anyone who asks. We provide Christmas gifts to children in our community through our Christmas outreach. We also help many individuals and families in various ways based on their specific needs.

It is our desire to continue to grow and expand in these areas of ministry so that we can make a greater impact in the lives of those in our neighborhood and in our city.