This year for the first time our church, House of the Gospel, hosted a Back to School event for our neighbors. This event included partnerships with multiple different ministries and other churches. The goal of the event was to give away necessary school materials to children in need and to share the gospel. The materials included backpacks, notebooks, and writing utensils. We also offered to fix bicycles for free to anyone who brought one and arranged a few barbers from our church to provide free haircuts.
On the day of the event over 80 neighbors attended. More than 100 backpacks were given away. Those who wanted to get a haircut did not stop coming. Over 20 bicycles were fixed. Many church members came to help and volunteered by grilling and giving away food. Children enjoyed an opportunity to cool down on water slides while adults fellowshipped and heard the gospel.
The “Back to School” event was a blessing for our church because of how many church members were involved. One group of people prepared the gifts, another group prepared the food, another group focused on fixing bikes, and, another group was taking care of haircuts while others were providing games and other activities for the youngest children. A lot of people from the church were involved in making sure the event was done for the glory of God.
The purpose of the events we do is not to simply serve and do good to those around us, the bigger purpose is to build a culture of evangelism in the church and to preach the gospel. Praise God as a result of this ministry new people from the community came to our English service at the church next Sunday.
Alex Ivanov,
Senior Pastor
