FaithFULL Kids

Having fun decorating the food boxes with messages of God’s love!

This summer, over 100 people came together to pack 225 boxes of food for children in our community who didn’t have enough to eat. People of all ages, faiths, and stages of life joined with WordServe Church and First UMC Fulshear to help feed these hungry kids. Here are a few stories from the summer packing parties:

A first grader from Huggins Elementary gave $20 to FaithFULL Kids. She raised the money by selling lemonade in her neighborhood.

A Girl Scout Troop in Cypress raised $500 for FaithFULL Kids after they learned about the organization from the Fulshear Girl Scout Troop leader.

A father who came to pix up boxes of food for his family was hesitant to have people pray with him during the first distribution in June, but in July, he held out his hands, eager for someone to pray with him.

A sixth grader from WordServe Youth boldly walked up to someone they didn’t know picking up a box for their family and prayed with them.

FaithFULL Kids was so embraced by the whole community, we raised more money and collected more food than we needed. That means we can start the school year with a surplus! We also received a Moody Grant from a Methodist Foundation to help us as we continue the ministry throughout the school year.

We love watching God move through the Fulshear community when his people come together and joyfully care for the needs of their neighbors! Join FaithFULL Kids for a Wednesday night packing party this year, or find out more about how you can support this ministry by clicking here.

Spare Change, Life Change

A group from WordServe Kids visit Living Water International’s headquarters in Stafford

Kynley and Avery were each saving money for something special–until a field trip convinced them to give money away instead.

“Before I went to Living Water International, I was saving money to buy an American Girl Doll,” says Kynley, 8.  Avery, 6, chimes in, “I was saving for a puppy.” Both girls realized they could save money for something even better. “We’re collecting money for Living Water so they can give it to people who don’t have clean water to drink,” says Avery. 

And a Child Shall Lead Them…

At WordServe Church, our mission is to guide people to grow as joyful servants of Jesus.  One of the best places this can happen is between parents and their children.

Let me tell you a story about “K,” a 5 year old who lives for Christ.  Here’s what she’s done so far this Spring:

• Earned $6.00 from her egg business (that’s right… chickens that she feeds before she eats breakfast!)
• Used some of her other money to buy:
  – Stickers
  – Bandaids
  – A Washrag
  – A Beaded necklace
  – A mini rubber duck

Ah, you say… that sounds like a 5 year old… sort of.  But combine this list (and the $6.00) with the handwritten note she dropped off, and you have a 5 year old’s version of a care package for a Compassion Child that our church adopted over a year ago.  Her money, her time, and her gifts went to a child living in poverty.

One child is richer than most of us because she is loved… sacrificially.  And another child humbles us all as she shows us what it means to truly put someone else’s needs above her own.

Sometimes those that we think we’re guiding to grow turn out to be the ones guiding us to grow!

Life is Different!   Come and see….

Funding for land!

This week, WordServe took another step toward the milestone of purchasing land in the greater Fulshear area that will one day be home to a permanent facility for use in guiding people to grow as joyful servants of Jesus.

WordServe received a check from a widow in Mississippi! This sweet lady (who several years back signed up for our enews) writes:

Dear Nolan & church members,

Good luck and may God bless you as you strive to find land & build a new facility. Your vision sounds wonderful! I hope to send you a gift often.

Sincerely,

Forwarding God’s purpose from Mississippi*

When God says that he’ll provide the resources he desires for what he wants to do, he means it! Who knows what all he has in store as we press in to his desire to transform communities one relationship at a time through WordServe!

*Identity withheld for privacy reasons.

5 kids, 101 gifts

WordServe Youth and their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

WordServe Youth may be a small group right now, but they are making a huge impact! Instead of focusing on what they wanted for Christmas, these youth focused on what they could give. Together, five middle- and high-schoolers collected a total of 101 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse. Emily Motley collected the most boxes and won a grand prize of an iTunes gift card and a $200.00 scholarship toward a summer mission trip. The shoeboxes were packed full of school supplies, toys, clothing, candy, and other gifts, and will be distributed around the world during the month of December.

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in tangible ways to needy children around the world, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since the program began, nearly 70 million shoeboxes have been delivered around the world to 135 different countries. Some of the children WordServe Church has worked with in Bogota, Colombia, have been recipients of these shoeboxes.

Kyaw-Kyaw’s Story

Kyaw-Kyaw’s bike gives him (and his family) opportunities that he wouldn’t otherwise have.

This is Kyaw-Kyaw. He and his family are refugees from Burma seeking a new life in Houston. Every day, Kyaw-Kyaw rides his bike two miles each way with his son on the back so his son can go to preschool and start his education. Education means a new start for Kyaw-Kyaw and his family, but education would be impossible without transportation. That’s where the bike comes in.

Two Wheels Make a Difference

On Saturday April 2, 2011, a group of people from WordServe decided to connect their faith to everyday life when they met at Wal-Mart to purchase bicycles for refugees in the Houston area. Bicycles are an important part of life for refugees in this country as bikes are often their primary means of transportation.  Bicycles also allow them to keep in touch with each other and friends in the community.  But something as simple as a bicycle can be very hard to come by as a refugee just coming to this country, and for many, it is a luxury they simply cannot afford. So, a group of WordServe servants gathered at Wal-Mart one Saturday to purchase bikes for the refugee community. We also collected used bicycles from friends and neighbors. In all, 12 bicycles, 12 helmets, and 12 locks were provided to the refugee community! Here’s an account from one of the WordServers who helped deliver the bikes:

The Year of the House

Can you see God in a house? The people of WordServe Church spent many hours this past year looking for God–and finding him–among the rubble of a local home destroyed by fire. For WordServe, 2010 was indeed the year of the house. Take a look at the video below and watch the journey unfold as a group of people take a risk, step out in faith, and tackle something so big that we could never have accomplished it without God. See this house transform from ashes to beauty, and realize that in the process, God was transforming each of us in incredible ways, too. 

The Church Has Left the Building!

On Sunday, July 25th, 2010, more than 200 people from WordServe Church and First United Methodist Church Fulshear joined together to joyfully care for the needs of our neighbors and our community. We cancelled worship services inside our buildings in order to worship God by serving others. To catch a glimpse of some of the amazing things that happened when the Church Left the Building, check out this video!