November 24, 2010

The last two years, "AG News" has asked Assemblies of God churches, colleges and ministries to help us let readers have a taste of how compassion is a part of who we are as a Fellowship – especially during the Christmas season (November – December).

This year, we are once again asking that if your AG church, college or ministry is planning a benevolent outreach to your community (or has already conducted one) this Christmas season, please let us know. Then, in December, we'll publish that list (see instructions below).

"For the past two years, we've heard back from ‘AG News' readers about how much they appreciate reading this Christmas Project listing," states Dan Van Veen, "AG News" editor. "They often express a sense of thankfulness and personal encouragement for how God is using these ministries to tangibly touch the lives of so many – hearing of efforts that they would otherwise never know about."

To become a part of the Christmas Project, Assemblies of God churches, ministries and colleges are asked to send a sentence or two of 35 words or less (name and location is not included in the word count) that shares what your church/ministry/college is doing to help meet the needs of the less fortunate in your community. We will compile the responses and run the listing before Christmas.

Following are three submissions from last year as examples:

• Caribbean Theological College, Bayamon, Puerto Rico: Collected food items for Thanksgiving and distributed them to local families with financial problems or that have recently lost their jobs.

• Prospect Assembly of God, Prospect, Oregon: Provided six families with a full Thanksgiving dinner. Three were single mothers with several children and would not have been able to provide for their family. They also distributed friendship blankets with John 3:16 printed on them.

• The Rock Community Outreach Center, Port Arthur, Texas: Distributed 153 turkeys and fed 327 individuals on Thanksgiving. They will hold "Project Christmas" to pass out over 600 toys and are partnering with Southern Oklahoma State University to hold outreach for homeless.

To participate in the 2010 Christmas Project, send your e-mail response to news@ag.org, and write: "Christmas Project 3" in the subject line. The Christmas season efforts that can be included are those that have occurred or will occur between the dates of November 1, 2010, to January 2, 2010. The limit is 35 words (not including name or location). Deadline for submitting your church, ministry or college for this project of inspiration is Friday, December 12, 2010.

Whether you decide to participate in this listing or not, "AG News" would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those churches, ministries and colleges who do so much to make a difference in people's lives.

AG-NEWS: The A/G News & Information Service