Birmingham Association care ministry reaches dozens of families each week
- Jul 23, 2008 - comment
Although Green Springs Baptist Church closed its doors in 2005, its ministry lives on.
Each week, the building once used by the former Birmingham Baptist Association (BBA) congregation now serves many people in Jefferson County. The Ministry Center at Green Springs is currently housed there, providing food, English classes, the gospel message and other provisions.
Ray Flynn, Ph.D., director and president of the board of directors overseeing the ministry, said that 30 to 40 families visit the facility each week, receiving anything from frozen meats and canned vegetables to cake mix and cookies. A concept Flynn calls “client choice” allows them to select items based on what they prefer rather than having a box prepared for them.
“They’re able to choose their own food according to their needs, which we feel gives them dignity,” said Flynn, a member of Shades Crest Baptist Church, Hoover. “It also gives us an opportunity to get to know them better.”
The center also offers classes in English as a second language, provides Goodwill vouchers for families in need of clothing and assists parents with purchasing their children’s Christmas gifts.
Up to a dozen homeless people are also given a small amount of non-perishable items every week.
Flynn said the ministry began as part of BBA and Green Springs Baptist along with four other Baptist churches: Shades Crest, Bluff Park; Berney Points, Hoover; Carson Road, Center Point; and Raleigh Avenue, Homewood. Green Springs wanted the Ministry Center to retain the church’s name and continue the ministry when the church disbanded.
Today, the original churches (with the exception of Carson Road) are still involved, along with Shades Valley Community Church in Homewood and The Redeemed Christian Church-Jesus House in Birmingham. Flynn said the ministry also receives support from the BBA Woman’s Missionary Union and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Food for the ministry is obtained from food drives conducted by churches, along with monetary donations used to purchase items from the United Way Food Bank. Linda Pair, director of church and community missions with BBA, said the association strives to help publicize food drives and services provided by the Ministry Center.
“Every opportunity that we can, we promote their ministry,” she said.
In addition to Flynn, the Food Ministry employs a contract social worker who is available to assist families with other difficult circumstances. But Flynn adds that volunteers frequently find themselves helping those the ministry serves.
“Need is defined as economic need, but it can be emotional, physical or spiritual need,” Flynn said.
Firsthand approach
After helping visitors to the Ministry Center bag their groceries for several years, Sally Graves knows the difference a firsthand approach makes.
“To meet these people and see how they’re doing, it’s just rewarding to see where your stuff [food] goes and try to understand their feelings,” said Graves, a member of Berney Points.
Pair said the volunteers are passionate about the work “because they see the difference it has made in people’s lives.”
“It gives them satisfaction in knowing that they are fulfilling the commission of what Jesus called us to do by loving and caring for our neighbor,” she said.
The Ministry Center is hosting an International Children’s Camp July 21–25.
The camp will be a combination of Vacation Bible School and tutoring for students from homes where English is not the primary language, providing a needed boost before the start of the school year.
Four churches without buildings — four African churches and one Latino — lease the facility’s sanctuary for services.
For more information, call 205-326-1211.
This article is reprinted from the July 10, 2008, issue of The Alabama Baptist, the newspaper of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
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