From Boxes of Love to Easter Bags
Churches are making an evangelistic outreach to the tens of thousands of children living in the urban areas of America this Easter.
NEW YORK – Churches are making an evangelistic outreach to the tens of thousands of children living in the urban areas of America this Easter with the candies and good news that has reached young hands every year.
Here's Life Inner City, the “compassionate urban ministry” of Campus Crusade for Christ International, plans to reach 28,770 children in 15 U.S. cities this year, delighting each with an Easter Bag filled with sweet treats, toys, Bible activity books and a Gospel bracelet made of beads representing the wearer's relationship with Christ.
"The purpose of almost everything we do is that we want people in the inner city who are living outside the body of Christ, the love of Christ to be introduced to the Savior and the body of Christ where they can get help both spiritually and physically," said Clint Owens, director of Here's Life Inner City in New York.
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Shifting from Thanksgiving boxes to Easter bags, the New York ministry plus 300 volunteers, mainly from local churches numbering nearly 100, will begin outreach efforts this weekend by assembling 9,000 bags in preparation for distribution. The urban ministry's budget only allowed for 5,000 bags but the number nearly doubled through "God's provision," as Owens noted.
Commenting on the "very holistic" nature of Here's Life Inner City, Owens noted that churches have always been at the forefront in holistic efforts. While not speaking for all churches, he said they have, for the most part, recognized the hungry and the physical needs of people in the city.
"I think they do think holistically," he added. "Our role is to supply things to them."
Easter bags are directed toward "kids in the inner city who might not be getting much for Easter," he said.
Participating churches will distribute the bags throughout Easter week, offering the love of the Gospel in their own outreach strategies and projects.
"Our hope is that every program ... really creates a bridge from the church to a person in need in the city," said Owens, noting a mother who came to Christ when her young son received an Easter bag during last year's distribution.
"If an Easter bag falls in the hands of a child who doesn't know the Lord, we hope the Easter bag does that" - connect them and their parents to Christ.
To donate to Here's Life Inner City for Easter Bag distribution, visit www.hlic.org.
