As the people of the church we are called to serve others both individually and as a church. Here are some examples of how the Lord has given us the opportunity to give. The is less about the us and more about how the Lord works through people. We pray that as He gives us other opportunities we will respond in faith, love and obedience. We've all been called to Be Rich, in good deeds - that is (1 Timothy 6:18) and, by God's grace, this is who we are becoming.
MAKE IT MEMORABLE EVENTS!
On Sunday, November 14th we left the building on a Sunday once again. We went to Founders Nursing Rehab and we took quite a few classic cars, a polaroid camera and the people of our church. Check out this 1-minute recap:
https://vimeo.com/649186465Rather than talk about something on a Sunday morning, at times, we decided to do something.
AUGUST 2021 - BACK TO SCHOOL PRAYER - Our schools are a wonderful picture of community from the young to the old and everyone in between. We met at Wylie East High School and prayed for all as we go into the 2021 school year.
BE RICH 2020 - CHRISTMAS - This year, we again partnered with The Bridge Connection Outreach. The Outreach is an event where selected families receive gifts donated by people in the community. We adopted 10 and purchased gifts for 10 people in our community.
BE RICH 2020 FOOD Drive benefitting the Christian Care Center who servies the Wylie area and beyond.
BE RICH 2020 - Founders Nursing and Rehab Staff: Volunteers from The STORY wrote every staff member (127 people) an encouraging note and provided a $5 gift card to just show appreciation for being among those serving the residents who are higher risk.
Be Rich 2020 - Founders Nursing and Rehab Residents: Our neighbors, who are literally just a stones throw away from our building, are on quarantine. Their staff looked for creative ways to entertain the residents when weather permits. We provided:
Kites, seeds, butterfly nets, bubbles, bubble machines, butterfly gardens and rocks to a paint. This was just one small way we can be the church.
2019
December - BE RICH (In good deeds, that is) GIFT DRIVE: We partnered with WYLIE ISD to help provide gifts for students in need.
November - BE RICH (In good deeds, that is) CLOTHING DRIVE
July - BE RICH (In good deeds, that is) SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE
May - BE RICH (In good deeds, that is) FOOD DRIVE
2018
As we began preperations to move into our new building, we recognized that we had a new neighbor - Founders Plaza Nursing and Rehab Center. We've taken steps to build our relationships with the residents and the staff by initially having a large group join them for lunch to begin the relationship. After this, we've had individuals visit residents and our Children's Ministry build centerpieces for the Founders Family Dinner (that a large group delivered in person). It has been a good start and we will continue to move forward in building this relationship.
Additionally, we gave out money to families in our church one Sunday. There instricution was to give prayerfully give the money away and then to share the STORY of who, what and why.
Be Rich Christmas Outreach 2017
We partnered with a wonderful local organization called The Bridge Connection to serve people in the community. Families were provided gifts and a wonderful evening together. The people of the STORY, were thankful to serve.
Adopt A Block (Monthly from Summer 2016-Summer 2017)
We partnered with a local organization called The Bridge Connection to serve a free meal and give clothing away to people in the community who were in need.
Community Thanksgiving Gathering (Yearly)
For three years, we partnered with other churches in the community to give financiall to the Christian Care Center who helps meet needs in the community.
We had a School Supply Drive August 2017.
We took a special offering for a family who lost their young child in a car accident in 2017.
Be Rich 2016 (In Good Deeds, that is) - We took an offering ($1911) and gave it away to people in our community.
--One Sunday, every family that showed up was given an envelope with $20 in it. Each was instructed to give it away as the Lord led.
--We gave to an individual who has had a very difficult 2016.
--Money was given to a man who has dealt with incredible family, financial and circumstancial difficulty for a lot of years.
--A donation was made to strong heart ministires which is a gym who spreads the gospel while functioning on donations.
--Money ws given to a single mom who has an incredible amount of responsibility while working a lot of hours.
--We asked The Bridge Connection in Wylie, what is most needed to serve those who come to them for help locally. At their request, we purchased A LOT of hygiene and personal products including lotion, feminine products, shampoo, soap, deoderant, underwear for teens and adults (they often have donations for children but not as much that could be worn by teens), vitamins, socks, toothpaste, razors and more.
--A financial gift was given to Russell and Ginger Shocklee who run The Bridge Connection. They pour their heart, their time, their love and their money to people who need it. They've also given The STORY Church a wonderful avenue to serve the community in many ways. This, along with our service, is part of our thanks.
We also partnered with The Bridge Connection to help 115 mothers, 53 fathers and 351 kids (so far) which equals a total of 519 guests. By the way, this number continues to grow as people are continuing to be helped.
December 12, 2015: We gave money away as part of our Be Rich (not get rich) campaign. This is a campaign that we took up a special offering and gave every single penny away. This is what we did with the money:
--We helped a single mom of four kids give presents to her children.
--Our Teen Group made special blankets for people in a nursing home.
--We purchased clothing for a struggling family.
--We gave a little financial help to someone who has lost his job.
--We bought winter jackets for people in need that we donated to the Bridge Connection which serves the poor and struggling in Wylie.
--We gave gifts to the family of Jeremiah Hart who is a 9 year old Wylie boy who was severely injured in an accident at Firewheel Mall.
--We purchased food to donate to the Bridge Connection.
--We donated food for the meal at an Adopt a Block event that feeds people and gives food and clothing who need it.
1 Timothy 6:18: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
From Oct - Dec 2014 We were used by the Lord to help change the World It all started with a questions - If you had the opportunity to really change the world, and it was easy, would you do it? This question led to a wonderful opportunity to do this. Money was given and every single penny went to giving 151 people clean drinking water who did not have it.. To read more:
https://my.charitywater.org/the-story-church
1 Night to Unite 2014 The Story Church played a significant role in helping 1 Night happen. 1 Night involved a community Prayer Walk and a Community Gathering for 1000's of people. Along with about 25 other churches, we participated in a Prayer Walk covering Wylie, Murphy, Sachse and Lavon. Homes were prayed for and an invitation to 1 Night was put on their door. Pastor Ray served on the Leadership for 1 Night and had the opportunity to speak at this community event. Even better, the Story church had volunters sign up to serve to help make the night happen.
Serving a Family in Need for Thanksgiving/Christmas '13 The Student Ministry and the Student Leadership had the heart to serve someone outside of our church. Through some digging, a family who could really use some help was identified. Our leaders were in touch with this family and the church responded out of love. Meals, bags full of presents, 2 trailers full of furniture and so much more was given.
Community Impact: On Sunday, November 24th, 2013 we partnered with other churches in the Wylie area for a Community-wide Gathering. As part of this gathering, we took up an offering where 100% of the money went to help people in the community. This was done through the Christian Community Care Center and is another example of the unity of church in this area. The offering will translate to put food on tables, clothing on backs and heat in homes for this winter.
The Money Give Away. On May 5th, 2013 we decided to do rather than to just talk. Every family present was given $20 to just give away the money to whoever the Lord tugged on their heart to give it to. We were to pray about who, then give the money and tell the person the reason and write the story to encourage the rest of the church. You can also read some of the stories by clickinghere:
http://www.thestorychurch.org/StoriesfromtheMoneyGiveAway
Serving a free meal to the community. On several occasions we partnered with www.the bridge connection.org to serve a free meal to whoever in the community wants one.
Serving at Buckner International in Dallas: Buckner is an organization that serves orphans both locally and around the world. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to both serve and give toward this organization.
Food for the community: During our Weekend Gathering, instead of talking about serving the community - we did it. Every family attending the Story Church Weekend Gathering received a $15 gift card to a local grocery store. We left the Gathering and went to the store and collected food for the Wylie Christian Community Center.
Donating time, energy and money: Wally Watkins was the newest elementary school in Wylie. In preparing for their opening they ran out of funds to paint the teachers lounge. The Lord gave us the opportunity to give the resources, people and time to get it painted.
Encouraging Community Leaders: Police officers, Fire-fighters and school administrators, teachers and custodial stuff have such an incredible responsibility as they serve the community. We invested one of our Weekend Gatherings to write notes to encourage and thank them.
Giving: During a Weekend Gathering, 10% of the money put in the offering box was donated to a woman that needed help.
The Men of Nehemiah (www.themenofnehemiah.org/) is an organization that helps men who have been in prison, homeless or have been addicted. After a year long program they supply graduates with an apartment and a job. The Lord gave us a wonderful opportunity to donate home items to help these men get back on their feet.
Helping Start a Church: Because we care about our mission being accomplished beyond our community, for over a hear we we gave monthly toward a family who is preparing to start a church in New York.
The people of The STORY Church have also been led to give to others who have been in need, struggling or grieving. This has been true both within The STORY Church an for people beyond. Please pray that we would remain faithful to the Lord in our service of Him and others.
