“great church leadership, persistence, and the power of the Holy Spirit will always prevail”
Chris Campbell, 111Project Executive Director
111Project is excited to feature one of our church partners who has consistently grown in their engagement. Since 2016, 111Project has been working with Metropolitan Bible in various ways but it was in March of 2019, one of 111Project’s founding board members, Robin Jones introduced 111 to her lead Pastor John Frawley. After learning about the opportunity to partner with 111Project, Pastor John became a lead advocate in giving an opportunity to 111 to partner and mobilize Metropolitan Bible even though Pastor Frawley was still relatively new to leading the church. “We realize that sometimes it takes a little time for a church to build capacity to serve. We are always honored and humbled when a church would allow us to walk with them in mobilizing their congregation. For most churches, they want to help but a lack of awareness or infrastructure makes it difficult for them to mobilize their church to action. I think there are a lot of obstacles to the church making a noticeable difference in their community but great church leadership, persistence, and the power of the Holy Spirit will always prevail. If we have a church willing to be made aware and then engage, we are committed to being faithful to walk alongside them until they figure it out” Chris Campbell Executive Director of 111Project.
Two of Metropolitan’s response team members, Jessica and Jaclynn Cliffton, gave us some insight into how their church and CarePortal have been making an impact in their community. These two, who are sisters, volunteer their time to help head up CarePortal for their church, Metropolitan Bible Church in Oklahoma City. They mostly handle logistics in getting needs met. About once a month, they choose a larger need from CarePortal, such as outfitting an entire apartment and respond. Then they request help from the church body as a whole using the church’s social media and the weekly email updates to get the word out. Once people respond, the team organizes the delivery by recruiting volunteers, interacting with DHS, picking up the donated items if needed, etc. They recently got approval for a designated area in their church where we can store items people wish to donate in an effort to be able to fulfill more needs. Currently, they are maintaining an inventory of things that have been donated and matching them to needs in the community. Jessica and Jaclynn have been part of the ministry since February.
“In today’s society where we no longer know our neighbors, it is easy to be insulated from the needs around us.”
Jessica & Jaclynn Metropolitan Bible Church
When asked about how CarePortal has impacted their growing engagement in the child welfare community, Jaclynn responded, “The 111Project bridges the knowledge gap between the church and the community. The CarePortal’s partnership with DHS gives churches the information they need to provide the necessary assistance to those who need it. In today’s society where we no longer know our neighbors, it is easy to be insulated from the needs of those around us. The weekly emails bring these needs to our congregation’s attention. By fulfilling these needs, our church is instrumental in supporting the children of our area.” Since March of 2019, Metropolitan has had an economic impact in their community of over $24,000. While they may have started out slow, their congregation has been increasing momentum of the last few months meeting needs left and right. We asked what has contributed to their increased engagement, “First of all, we believe it is God moving in people’s hearts within our church family to give generously. On a more human note, consistent interaction, information, and stories shared of needs met have led to increased engagement as well. It seems that once someone is able to help personally meet a need, they return to help again and again.”
By being able to give the church more opportunity to be the hands and feet, we see churches changing and growing. “By being involved with CarePortal, our church has been able to interact with our surrounding community more. This involvement led to more proactive donations to meet the needs that we haven’t identified yet. As knowledge of the needs has increased, more people are reaching out with donations, transportation, and delivery assistance. People seem to be more willing to sacrifice their time and resources as we continue with this outreach.”
I asked Him to take my small offering of time, talents, and resources and to make it big for His glory.
Jessica & Jaclynn Metropolitan Bible Church
Every request met, every family supported, and every child that is taken care of is an impactful story. We asked Jessica and Jaclynn how their lives have been impacted by their church’s involvement. Jessica replied, “It hurts my heart to think that there are families around me struggling to stay together who may just need a bit of encouragement and a helping hand to make it through their tough times. The needs when looking at them all are overwhelming, but I felt God place the picture of the little boy offering his small lunch to Jesus, that the Lord then used to feed thousands, in my mind when getting involved with this ministry. I asked Him to take my small offering of time, talents, and resources and to make it big for His glory. Each time my sister or I respond to a need on behalf of our church not knowing all the logistics of what will be donated, how we will deliver, or who will volunteer to help, is an opportunity for me to personally trust in the God who provides. And it has been so exciting to get to see that happen over and over again. It has grown my trust, shifted my perspective to one more focused on His glory, and given me such familial pride in my church family as I have seen them serve with me in this ministry.” And Jaclynn’s response was, “These opportunities have impacted me by reiterating to me that God does not call me to be a servant or generous for today, but every day, continuously. There are more needs than I could possibly meet on my own, and I am grateful for everyone who has come alongside us to fulfill as many needs as we can.”
A story that stuck out to the girls was during the COVID lockdown, Metropolitan Bible Church became aware of a mom who had recently completed a sober living program and gotten an apartment. She needed furnishings to be able to potentially resume caring for her little girl. Our church dropped off donated items for the mother individually at the complex since we could not gather during this time. A few days later, our DHS contact emailed to let us know that with what we were able to provide, this mother was allowed to be reunited with her child. For most stories, we can tell we have made a difference, but helping that mom might have forever changed a family.