Hello,
My name is Jeff McNally and I am the Pastor of Word For Life Church of God in Kalamazoo County Michigan. It has always been in my heart to network churches and ministries that will together help meet the spiritual and physical needs of not only each other but will reach out in unity to the poor and needy in our area.
How it started…
My wife, Mindy and I own and operate a restaurant in downtown Kalamazoo where we regularly see homeless folks sleeping in the back alley. My heart goes out to them as they are lonely, hungry and in the wintertime are surely cold. At Christmas time 2005, with the help of a couple area churches and businesses, we opened up the restaurant to the homeless and needy for a special Christmas Dinner. Over 400 People were served a hot meal and 150 blankets, winter coats, gloves and hats were given out. 218 of those folks served asked for a follow up visit from clergy or church members. 40 of them accepted Christ and 22 of them have since been baptized!
What began as feeding a few homeless people a Christmas dinner has now grown to an ongoing ministry of feeding hundreds of souls the hope of Jesus Christ. Kalamazoo Refuge Ministries was born when we saw what a huge need there was for ongoing outreach and what could be done when area churches and ministries unite.
Because the need was so great, Christmas Dinner of 2006 was held in two city locations simultaneously-Stockbridge United Methodist Church in the Edison neighborhood and First Congregational Church downtown. Both locations together served over 1,000 meals, gave out over 500 coats, over 7,000 pounds of clothing, hundreds of gloves and hats, more than 500 blankets and over $1,000 worth of toys. Many volunteers helped with this event and even more are needed for the ongoing ministry for those at the dinner who asked for follow up from clergy or a Christian friend. See Events & Links for more information on how to get involved.
The upcoming Christmas Dinner for is already being planned. We are in hopes of reaching even more people this year,. Join us in reaching out to those in need by helping provide a hot meal, warm clothes and the hope of Jesus Christ. |
| Jeff McNally, Pastor of Word For Life Church of God |
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| Celebration of Hope ‘06 Pastor Jeff McNally |
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| Jesus prayed... |
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| "My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be as ONE Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete UNITY to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." |
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| John 17:20-23 |
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