Gateway Family,

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all areas of our lives, and the Capitol Heights Middle School (CHMS) Ministry is no exception.  As you are aware, the Governor of Alabama has ordered that all schools remain closed for the rest of the school year.  Obviously, this brings an end to the ministry we were doing on the CHMS campus this semester.

We’re disappointed.  We’ve never had a better attended Bible study and we were literally one week away from starting a tutoring program that we’ve prayed for for so long.  It’s difficult to adapt in the midst of all this rapid change. But God knew all this was coming; he is not surprised.  And God is still working in the lives of CHMS families and students!

There is still ministry to be done at CHMS.

The CHMS social worker manages a food bank at the school that services 25 CHMS families.  However, because the school is closed, the food bank at the school is also closed.  The social worker has reached out to us to see if we can help these families in their time of need. 

Because of your prayers and generous support, we have been able to respond to the school’s request.  We are in our sixth week of delivering food to some of the CHMS families in need.  This week, we will be serving 9 families, 50 people in total.  We are taking these families some essential food items each week (eggs, bread, milk, PB&J) as well as a recipe with all the ingredients necessary to prepare the meal.

It’s been amazing how quickly all of this has come together.  You guys have been incredibly generous with your giving, which is allowing us to purchase the needed items each week.  The Lord has also answered our prayers in figuring out the logistics of purchasing and delivering the food: many of you have volunteered to shop for and deliver food; the Lord has provided a place to store our refrigerated items during the week; and the Lord even provided a connection at a local store to allow us to purchase the items we need without worrying about the per-customer restrictions!  The Lord has really been answering prayer; thank you for praying!

In addition to delivering food, Linnie and Debbie Dickson, the founders of The Shepherd’s Staff ministry, have come alongside us and are helping serve one of the families by getting them some needed household items. It’s awesome to see the body of Christ at work.

This is an answer to prayer.  We’ve prayed for a long time for open doors to minister to the families of CHMS.  It seems that God is opening the door for us to get to know some of these families on a personal level and minister to them, just in a way we never would have imagined!

Are you interested in helping us minister to these families in need? Here is what we need:

1. Prayer Warriors
   Of course, we need you to pray.  This is, once again, uncharted territory for us.  What a beautiful place to be though, totally dependent upon the Lord for wisdom and guidance.  Please lift this ministry up in prayer.  Pray for these families.  Pray for the harvest.  Pray that God would be glorified through these efforts.  Pray for our faithful volunteers delivering the food to the CHMS families.
   
   
2. Volunteers
   Many of you are already helping by shopping and delivering food to the families.  Let me know if you’d like to be involved; I have a feeling we’re going to discover more needs as we press further into this ministry.
   
   
3. Givers
   We will need additional funds if we believe that the Lord is calling us to minister in this way.  If you’d like to give to this ministry, you may do so online by clicking here or by mailing a check to Gateway Baptist at 3300 Bell Road, Montgomery, AL 36116).  If you mail a check, please make sure to put “CHMS Ministry” in the memo line of your check.
   
   Please contact Seth Rhodebeck if you can help.

We believe that the Lord is working.  These are difficult times.  It is hard to understand what’s happening and many of us do not like change.  But God is faithful.  Let’s enter into his presence and ask him for wisdom.  Let’s not waste our time worrying, but ask him to open our eyes to see where he’s working and join him in it.

We are so grateful for each one of you.  What a privilege to minister the Gospel alongside you!

Isaiah 58,
Seth