April 10th, 2024 was a significant day. We had the Southwest 5 County Launch event where we launched FIVE Oklahoma counties with CarePortal in one day! Over 75 people from the SW5 counties of Jackson, Harmon, Greer, Kiowa, and Tillman showed up, ready to get CarePortal launched in their areas and start meeting needs for children and families in crisis. There were over 20 churches represented in the room, including Strongtower Ministries, First Methodist Altus, Friendship Baptist Altus, Martha Road Baptist Altus, Red River Cowboy Church, Grace United Methodist, Thrive Church, Mountain View United Methodist, First Baptist Mountain View, Freedom Church, Southside Baptist Church, St. John Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Snyder, Salvation Army Altus, Rock Assembly of God, Spirit of the Lord Equipping Center, Faith Baptist Hollis, Altus Nazarene, Tamarack Road Church of Christ, and First Baptist Church Altus. Also in attendance were representatives from the agencies OKDHS (including several members of leadership), Clothed in Strength, Life Services at Pathways (pregnancy resource center), Fostering Grace, Operation C.A.R.E., and the OK Health Department. Martha Road Baptist Church, First Methodist Church, and Friendship Baptist Church generously paid for lunch for the event and the Southwest Technology Center graciously hosted the Mega County Launch.

At the beginning of the event, there were three open CarePortal requests in the five counties; one for a bunk bed, one for a bed for a teenager who had outgrown his old one, and a car seat. The churches there claimed ALL three! One of the OU bunk beds was already on site, so a church loaded it into their pickup truck that day to take to the family in need. Another church contributed a $995 check to help meet these and any other needs in the counties. Multiple sources have told our team that the communities in Jackson, Harmon, Greer, Kiowa, and Tillman are incredibly generous with their resources and we have already seen that on display.

A part of the event program also included an ask for volunteer Community Coordinators to serve these communities. Mike Peercy, Executive Director of Fostering Grace and Community Coordinator for Stephens County spoke from his experiences with 111Project and CarePortal and talked about the importance of this role in carrying out 111Project’s mission in each county. His sharing at the event resulted in two prospective Community Coordinators for Harmon and Jackson counties. By the time the event had ended, there were also two new church enrolments, one Community Champion enrollment, and one potential agency enrollment! It was a day of fruitfulness indeed.

The SW5 County Launch was a beautiful space of witnessing the Church mobilizing with great zeal for children and families in crisis. The communities in Jackson, Harmon, Greer, Kiowa, and Tillman are so ready to serve and we cannot wait to see all the Lord does through the men and women there! Click the link below to see how you can get involved with CarePortal and meet needs in your area. Also, check out our upcoming events!