Last Saturday I heard a startling statistic. The statistic had to do with the number of children in our nation that go hungry daily. The numbers are staggering. . .but at least that's not the case for my community. Well, that was what I thought anyway. I believe that's what most people think.
Let's look at my community. Clay County is a great place to live. There is much good happening. The schools are wonderful. There are stores and businesses throughout the towns of Clay County. Many, many people have moved to this county over the past twenty years due to the many positive aspects. Of course, the economic hard times have hit us, some severely, but overall, Clay County is a prosperous area.
So, Sunday I asked our Clay County Schools Superintendent Ben Wortham if he could give me a ballpark figure of how many children in our county are on a free or reduced lunch plan. This is an indicator of economic issues and health issues. I know we have a few children on these plans. Mr. Wortham said the numbers are around 38% county-wide. The percentages vary depending upon school location and demographics obviously, but if we have approximately 300,000 school-age children in our county, then over 114,000 are on these plans.
The free lunch plans are fine. This allows children to have a healthy, nutritious meal during the school days and during the summer, as these programs are available in our community. We have six to ten Title I schools in our county and one of the qualifiers of Title I is that 60% of the children qualify for the free lunch program. At least three of these schools are within a mile and a half of our main church campus.
So, here's the question "What about the weekends?" What do these children eat on the weekends? The schools are not able to provide. For some, this means they do not eat. For others, they do, but it may be limited.
The speaker at the conference said that we live in communities that are affluent with "third world aspects in our own neighborhoods." The message was to challenge us to get outside the walls of the church buildings and move beyond "drive by" evangelism and service projects.
I shared this information with my children, Ashley and Daniel (high school senior and freshman at Fleming Island High School, respectively) and the realization that something must be done became paramount.
We looked up some options and found that throughout the nation there are churches and communities doing "Backpack Clubs" to fill this need. We know of none in our county and so. . .with Ashley and Daniel leading out, the "Team Backpack" concept was born.
Ashley shared the concept with the student ministry last night. She talked about it with one of her teachers at school (to find out that a fellow student in her class would qualify as one of those on free lunch) and is meeting with school officials at Grove Park Elementary School today.
The desire is to start "Team Backpack" in October. Starting small - with five children, but with a long-term goal (twenty years or so) to provide backpacks with meals for all children in our county. That's a huge goal. I told her it's a God-sized goal.
So, we're sending press releases out. We feel God is opening doors. I'm excited that I'm not leading this ministry. I get to participate and be a cheerleader, but this isn't my program.
Oh, and here's one other thing. As we share, folks are saying "Why don't you provide for more than five children?" We will, but will start small. Sometimes, the newness wear off and volunteers quit and have to stop providing the backpacks. When a ministry begins there's often a lot of excitement at first. We may have fifty volunteers at first packing just five backpacks, but that's OK. Some will feel they're not needed for the ministry, but they are. Why? Because it will expand, in God's timing, with people in place to make it happen.
We talk about being the church. We ask the question "Would the community miss us if we ceased to exist?" This is the church in action. This will bless those in our community. This is putting feet to what we learn. This is love in action.
Ashley's going to create a Facebook Page for Team Backpack and over the next few weeks iron out all the details. Stay tuned. This is an intergenerational ministry opportunity. Planning to pack backpacks on Wednesday nights at 5:30pm and 7:30pm in the gym at the main campus. We'll start with just 5:30pm, since there are only five backpacks, but as we expand, we'll have two times. Great opportunity for individuals and families to serve together.
Click below for a PDF document breaking down the need, proposal, goal, process and FAQ of Team Backpack.
Download Team Backpack Proposal 2
