Committed to combat childhood hunger
Written by: Christ Fellowship Miami
As many churches around the nation are busy preparing for Easter, one local church is trying to do more than just encourage local residents to join them for a traditional Easter service and an egg hunt.
“Christ Fellowship is an extremely outward-focused church,” said Senior Pastor Rick Blackwood. “We put a large emphasis on serving the hurting and under resourced in our community.” Recent statistics show that 70% of Miami-Dade students receive the free public school lunch program. A public school in South Dade told Christ Fellowship church that “students can sometimes be found crying in the hallway because they are hungry or tired.”
In the spring of 2013, Christ Fellowship (CF) raised money and started delivering backpacks full of food to feed 450 hungry children every weekend during the school year. More than 300 volunteers from CF participate to make sure that students receive a backpack full of food. As a result of additional donations, the church now delivers 600 backpacks every weekend. This Easter, CF is looking to raise more funds to support the Backpack Program and feed 1,000 hungry students for the 2014-15 school year.
“We are committed to helping these students,” said Missions Pastor Jorge Molina. “We have a heart for Miami, and especially for children.”
That love for children has propelled CF to invest resources so that their children’s ministries are top notch! The CF Kids ministry helps young children learn to become more like Jesus in an age-appropriate and engaging manner by using creative elements like live music, puppet shows, skits and more. Middle and high school students also have an environment tailored just for them called CF Students that provides the opportunity to interact with other teens, features live music by teens, as well as time for small group discussions.
Families are invited to celebrate Easter at CF April 16-21 at multiple locations across Miami-Dade. There will be live music, egg hunts, family portraits and a powerful Easter message. For times and locations, visit cfmiami.org/kiddoseaster.
If you are interested in making a donation to the backpack program, sponsor a child for an entire school year with one time donation or want to learn more, please visit cfmiami.org/backpacks.
