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Local churches affiliated with Love INC (Love In The Name of Christ) and civic organizations in Buffalo are banding together to hold monthly meals at the Buffalo Community Center starting in the month of September. The aim of these meals is to invite families and individuals who may be struggling financially to come and enjoy a free meal.

Zion’s Social Ministry Committee, whose role is to reach out to our community, will be planning and preparing the first of these monthly meals which will be a nutritious breakfast served on Saturday, September 18 at the Community Center.

Your Help is Needed

In order to feed about 300 men, women and children :

1. Volunteers are needed to greet people, prepare and serve the meal. There will be shifts of volunteers between 7am and noon. on September 18. Please sign up at the information booth in the church.
2. To raise money to sponsor this event, the Social Ministry Committee will be asking for donations at our Ministry Fair booth on Homecoming Sunday, September 12. Make a contribution to help Zion feed people in need in Buffalo and the Social Ministry Committee will give you a box of candy!

Through Love INC, churches are able to fulfill their mission to reach out and serve those in need with the love of Christ.

But in giving, churches also benefit as Love INC:

• Assists churches in going beyond benevolence or simply handing out resources to connecting with people in need and developing relationships.
• Verifies that each request for assistance is legitimate so that churches can be good stewards of their resources.
• Helps churches prevent creating dependency in those they assist by discovering and solving problems at the root level.
• Identifies unmet needs or gaps in community services and informs churches of new opportunities for ministry.
• Lessens the strain on any one church as the network of churches work together to meet needs.
• Provides a more cost-effective approach to ministry by sharing resources and utilizing volunteers to meet needs.
• Helps churches assist those in need both inside and outside of the congregation.
• Demonstrates unity in the Body of Christ as churches come together to fulfill God’s command to love their neighbors—offering a powerful witness to the community.
• Connects un-churched people to churches, helping churches grow as they reach out to the community with the love of Christ.

Back-to School time can be a burden on many low income families, especially those who have to purchase supplies and clothing for more than one child. Did you know there are 491 elementary school age children in Buffalo that are eligible for the school free lunch programs?

As we are quickly nearing another school year Zion‘s Social Ministry Team, along with Love INC-Big Woods and the Buffalo Food Shelf, will be collecting school supplies that will be distributed to children of these low income families. During the month of August, there will be collection bins in Zion‘s Narthex to collect needed supplies. Mailings are going out to these 491 students to advise them we can help them have a good start to the school year.

Please fill up the collection bins with these items and help Zion make a difference in the Buffalo Community:

• Notebooks
• Notebook paper
• Pocket Folders
• Hand sanitizer
• Pencils
• Pens
• Pencil boxes
• Colored pencils
• Glue/glue sticks
• Scissors
• Erasers
• Book bags/backpacks
• Crayons
• Rulers

Distribution of the school supplies will be at the Food Shelf in late August.

Progress has been slow but steady at Love INC (In the Name of Christ)-Big Woods of Buffalo, Maple Lake and Hanover. To raise money and raise public awareness, Love INC had a Dad‘s Waffles Breakfast fundraiser at St. Johns Church in June. People are excited that the organization is moving along.

In August, Love INC will be partnering with the Buffalo Food Shelf to collect and disperse school supplies to children (see page 15) and begin the hiring process for an Executive Director (see page 18).

Love INC will also be participating and partnering with the City Community Center and Civic Agencies to have a monthly community meal served.

Next Steps

The organization has formed a Board of Directors but still needs to secure an office for the clearinghouse, hire an executive director, enlist more churches and send more people to training.

• The first goal of the Love INC board is to post the job description for an executive director beginning August 1. Please apply if qualified or pass the announcement on to potential candidates.
• The director and a couple of board members will complete Phase 2 training, and learn how to put a network together and train volunteers, among other duties. Volunteers will be trained in doing intake and finding resources for clients, as well as identifying people who are misusing church ministries.
• After the proper groundwork, the clearinghouse will be opening the first quarter next year.
• Another goal is to identify gaps in services, and work to fill those needs. For example, transportation to doctors‘ offices for children is a need not being met in this community at this time.

The eight churches already involved in the network have a hunger to be Christ‘s hands in the community, and to make a difference by sharing their particular services, such as a clothing ministry or furniture. Individual church members could share their special gifts, too; people with skills in law, carpentry, transportation and taxes, for example, could donate their services to those in need.

The Clearinghouse model is the foundation of all Love INC (In the Name of Christ) affiliates, including Zion’s mission partner Love INC-Big Woods of Buffalo, Maple Lake and Hanover . Requests for help are received directly from a person in need or when a person is referred to Love INC by a local agency or church. Trained Love INC volunteers or staff screen the request to determine legitimacy and extent of the need, and to discover any deeper issues fueling the crisis.

Love INC determines what help the client has already received from agencies or churches, and ensures the need is manageable and specific. Love INC then connects the need to the most appropriate church ministry, church volunteer, and/or local agency to meet the need.

The outcome is reviewed through a follow-up program that evaluates both the immediate need and core issues as well as providing an opportunity for the recipient to become connected to a local church if he or she desires.

One of Zion’s local mission partners is Love INC (In the Name of Christ)-Big Woods of Buffalo, Maple Lake and Hanover. The Love INC program is based around these core values.

• We are Christian. Everything we think, say, and do is in the name of Christ.
• Prayer is an integral part of who we are.
• We follow Christ’s example of valuing the poor and needy.
• We value unity of the Body of Christ.
• We value transformation in the lives of people and communities.
• We value churches living out the two great commandments to love God and love their neighbors.
• We value building Christ-like relationships.
• We value the connectedness of the Love INC movement.
• We model excellence.
• We value continually maturing in our capacity to meet people’s needs.