Mountain Brook Girls' Bible Study Raises Money to Help Feed Students in Need Over the Holidays

Mountain Brook Girls' Bible Study Raises Money to Help Feed Students in Need Over the Holidays 

On December 8th, this group of girls came from Mountain Brook to CSM to help us pack 175 of our Compassion Packs for kids at Forest Hills Middle School in Fairfield. These packs go to local schools to help supplement students' diets during their time away from school. any of these students depend on their school's meal plan to provide their nutrition on a weekly basis and when they are away from school for the holidays, they may not be properly nourished.

Thanks to these girls raising money and helping to put these packs together, there are 175 students in Fairfield that will be provided with a great supply of breakfast and snack foods for the Christmas holiday! Sandra Hardy, a member of Urban Hope Community Church and one of our partners in Fairfield, said that "your generosity is impacting hundreds of families in Fairfield" and that "the school was very appreciative of this kind gesture and the students were excited".  This is just another example of how, through Christ, the Christian Service Mission has been able to connect resources to needs!  Thank you girls from the Mountain Brook girls' Bible study and thank you Urban Hope for your involvement and partnership with CSM! Compassion Packs sponsorships are $5. Contact CSM to sponsor kids in need!

Toys and Christmas Meal Deliveries Help Spread Hope to Those in Need this Holiday Season

Toys and Christmas Meal Deliveries Help Spread Hope to Those in Need this Holiday Season

Volunteers sorted cans, organized toys, filled bags, and carried meals into homes for Christmas. This season is about the love and hope of Christ as our Savior and being able to generously give special meal items or help a parent fill a child's wish list is just one of the ways we can encourage fellow Christians or open the door to share the gospel with someone new.

Every year, we watch God provide more than enough through partnerships with churches, individual donors, and volunteers who make it all happen. We are so thankful to be able to spend this special time of the year with so many! At CSM, we hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating the birth of Christ and enjoying the specialness of it all.

What Will Last: A Note from Tracy Hipps

What Will Last

A Note from Tracy Hipps

What will last is our purpose and calling here to invest in the underserved. We have served thousands of people this last year and it has been an honor to serve for the Lord. In the last month, I have watched two very special people go home to the Lord: Ms. Sturdivant and Ms. Arrington. The Lord allowed CSM to serve them over the last 4 years with our hands and our hearts. It was a privilege to see them blessed by the Lord for their years of being a light in this world and they were a blessing to us through their steadfast prayers. Attending both funerals was a moving experience because the Lord has used both of these people to shape our purpose here: to serve the least of these.

What will last is the security we have in our Lord and Savior. The work we do is to increase the capacity to see lives changed for the gospel. The gospel message is the gas that powers the car or the wind that gives the sail the ability to move. The gospel is what inspires us to continue on each day "connecting resources with needs" because we know the true need is to know Him and then to make him known. The lives we have had the privilege to serve and the impact He has had is for eternity.

What will last is not the homes we have built or the gardens we have grown or the churches we serve or the people we have mobilized. What will last are the lives that have been changed and transformed through these relationships. The staff and volunteers at CSM are to make Him known. The Lord has produced this fruit The Lord has provided these opportunities to see lives changed.

What will last is not the connection to thousands of families or hundreds of partnerships but the one true connections we have in Christ. We are servants of the most High God and willing vessels to be used in whatever way He needs for us to be. What will last is Christ invading our lives so He can serve with our hands, walk with our feet, speak with our lips, see with our eyes, hear with our ears, think with our minds, and love with our hearts. To me, that is what it means to live as Christ. That is what will last.

What will last is for us to be last and for Him to be first. I am in awe daily here at CSM to serve the Lord and make Him known. Your investment is for the future that will last for eternity with Him. Thank you for another year of serving the Lord to the "least of these."