First Baptist Church Winter Garden, FL was on mission at GAP July 26th through July 31st, 2015. The week began shopping for distribution, replacing a kitchen counter top in a client’s home, ministering at Left Beaver Townhouses, and ministering at BeansTalk. Because Winter Garden has been a long time partner with GAP they have ministered to several clients throughout the years. This year FBC Winter Garden hosted what we called a “family reunion” which was an evening of food, fun, and fellowship for all the clients they had previously ministered to through construction projects. It was a wonderful evening! The team also ministered every day at Golden Years Group Home. They built and stained five picnic tables for the residents of the group home and also added a special touch by engraving scripture in the middle of the tables. Thank you First Baptist Church Winter Garden for an awesome week of ministry! (Click on photo below to view more pictures.)

Heartland Worship Center from Paducah, KY ministered at GAP July 20th – July 26th, 2015. This is Hearland’s 2nd mission trip to GAP this year and it was filled with ministry! The team held a four day VBS at Weeksbury Park averaging 30 children each day. They also served at BeansTalk, Senior Citizens, Golden Years Group Home, prepared for KidStock, and ministered at KidStock 2015. The team was extremely busy but it was a wonderful week of ministry! Thank you Heartland Worship Center for “standing in the GAP” and being the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior! (Click on photo below to view more pictures.)

South Orlando Baptist Church ministered at GAP July 12th through July 17th, 2015. The week flew by as they stayed busy with so many different aspects of ministry. The team held a two day backyard Bible Club at Ivy Creek Apartments, two women Bible study tea classes in different locations, two visits to Golden Years Group Home, client home visits, two days of client distribution, remodel the bathroom of a client, and hung drywall at GAP’s new educational building! They were busy! It was such a great week of ministry and fellowship with South Orlando Baptist Church. Thank you for “standing in the GAP!” (Click on image below to view more pictures.)

Parksville Baptist Church served at GAP June 14^th through 19^th, 2015. They arrived with servants’ hearts ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus. The team did a wonderful job sharing the loving of Christ as they ministered at Golden Years Group Home, served a hot meal at BeansTalk, conducted two Backyard Bible Schools, and worked around the distribution center. Thank you for “standing in the GAP!” (Please click on the photo below to view more pictures.)

Men from both Smoke Rise Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Augusta in GA joined together for a powerful week of ministry here at GAP May 17^th – May 22^nd, 2015. These men showed the love of Christ as they worked on four different construction ministry sites. They replaced windows, roofed a porch, and completely remodeled a bathroom. Both churches brought trailer loads of furniture for our annual furniture sale to our clients. Thank you men for coming with a servant’s heart ready to share the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (Click on the photo to view more images.)

Article Written by: Brent Hinton, Highview Baptist Church, Louisville, KY

If GAP closed tomorrow, would anyone in the community notice?

In April 2015, Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky experienced our inaugural week partnering with GAP in McDowell, KY.  Make no mistake, GAP is a major player in ministering to the hurting and seeking to save the lost.

Before arriving there was a massive amount of prayer for our group and the unmet individuals we were going to be in contact with during our time in Floyd County.  Our hope was that through GAP   relationships we would have opportunities to be an extension of their efforts enabling us to have moments to share the hope found only in Jesus Christ.

Thirteen men went with an attitude that real poverty is rooted in broken relationships.  Broken marriages, families, businesses, and communities are ultimately the result of broken relationships with God.  When we look at Louisville we see many of these same realities.  Our brokenness is the same because our need is the same.

Ministry projects ranged from assisting GAP clients with home repairs, assisting with food distribution for qualifying families, delivering meals, washing cars and even taking over a laundromat.  The Great Commission commands Christians to “go and make disciples”, these ministry projects, while meaningful, are simply the tool we used to be obedient to His command. Our primary focus was to  “be intentional” in sharing the Gospel through each of these touch points.

Each day was covered with more prayer.  God was gracious.  In each interaction with a GAP client, one by one, they opened up to us about their life.  Within each time an opportunity arose to evangelize.  Through this short-term mission trip we have a heart for a long-term partnership with GAP and the clients they serve.   With God at the center of it, the future prospects will be epic.

So yes, people in the community would notice if GAP closed it’s doors.  The community would miss this powerful community resource that makes a profound impact in lives each day by modeling what Jesus did.   Highview Baptist Church is thankful for GAP hosting us and we look forward to continuing serving side-by-side for years to come. (Click on the photo to see more pictures.)

On March 28^th GAP held its annual Community Easter Egg Hunt. It was an extremely cold Saturday. The temperature did not rise above 38 degrees the entire day. Volunteers showed up at 8:00 am ready to set up the ministry event. In previous years, it usually took about two hours to set up the carnival games, sound system, food, etc. However this year we broke the record. After only 30 minutes I looked around and the volunteers had disappeared. The cold temperatures had inspired everyone to be quick so that they could get back into their vehicles to turn their heaters on.

I wondered to myself just how many people would actually come out in this weather. At the end of the day 411 people had registered. We hid 6,200 filled plastic eggs and children of all ages had a great time hunting them. Their excitement was contagious. There were several carnival style games set up for families to play, face painting, clowns, an inflatable slide, food, puppets, live music including a local Christian rapper, but above all, at the center of this event was the sharing of the Easter story.

This year we tried something different in the way we presented the Gospel. Instead of trying to focus the crowd’s attention toward the stage for a presentation of the Gospel, we had 20 volunteers go out to engage adults one on one in conversation and share the resurrection story. God gave these volunteers some amazing opportunities to listen and to share with our clients and community. Throughout the day, as I looked around the crowd, I not only saw these volunteers talking and sharing but also praying with our clients, hugging them, and just being the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone around them.

Our clients have told us how grateful they are for the Community Easter Egg Event. Here is what just a few of them had to say:

“This has been the best day ever! Thank you for having this for me and my boys. We just love it!”– Macy B.

“Thank you for having this egg hunt. There is nothing around here for families to do together except this one time a year event. Thank you. We look forward to it every year!”  – Laci T.

“I thank God for GAP. I don’t know where I would be if it was not for GAP. My kids are still talking about the Easter Egg Hunt and all the fun we had. My youngest said, ‘Mommy why don’t they have that every week?’” – Sandra W.

It is evident that God has used this one day ministry event. We are grateful for partners like you who made it possible! This year teams from Forks of Elkhorn Baptist Church, Parksville Baptist Church, McDowell First Baptist Church, and Heartland Worship Center traveled to work at this ministry event. But there were many more that prayed and supported this event financially. Praise God for His provision for His ministry!

Here is what a couple of our volunteers had to say:

“This was my second time to work the GAP Easter Egg Hunt. Even though it was very cold it was still a blessing as usually. It is a great blessing to be able to serve the people there in this way. I don’t know who is blessed the most, those who attend or the ones who serve. What a great way to share Jesus!”   – Karen Perkins, Parksville Baptist Church

“The Heartland Worship Center Missionaries had a wonderful experience helping this year at the Community Easter Egg Hunt hosted by GAP. We met knew friends, fellowshipped with kids and families all day and most especially were blessed and privileged to show the love of Christ! This was our teams first year to help and we hope to have the privilege for many more years. This is an event that brings friends and family together for a time of fun, food and fellowship, and gives us the opportunity to minister to those who sometimes just need a listening ear and to see the love of Christ through our mission team members.”  – Alicia Turner, Heartland Worship Center (Click on the photo to view more pictures.)