The Effect
we are so blessed at Jars of Clay to have the opportunity to invest in things and people before they become what they are meant to be. We get to watch miracles happen right before our eyes every day. What started as a dream in Anita’s heart has grown into a huge ministry reaching thousands of people a year. Anita’s philosophy is to image the dedication of Noah, because not many people cared to help build in the beginning, but in the end everyone saw the absolute need.
Jars of Clay has grown from a small gathering at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in East Point to housing 100 a night, offering social services to 100 a week, providing mail service for more than 1,700 persons a year, conducting 4 weekly church services, operating a thrift store, and hosting 4 extreme children’s ministries weekly!
Thousands of people have come to know the mission and passion of Jars of Clay Shelter and Kingdom Worship Center church through the daily requests for emergency services. Our staff sees the serving opportunity as helping a regular “family member.” The word shelter and poor is rarely ever used because we have never met a stranger and through Christ we are rich!
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| Support = I Love You & I Choose To End Suffering |
Testimony:
We don’t have to look to the slums of Africa to find poverty. Most of it is in our own backyard. When it does not personally affect us, we tend to overlook the needs of others. Maybe we have enough food every day, and hunger lasts but a moment before we are able to fill our stomachs again. But there are people who don’t have that option. In Atlanta alone, there are thousands of people who are not living that so-called American dream because they are burdened by poverty. You can look away from these people…but do you REALLY want to?
Sure, nearly everyone in our country is dealing with the descending economy, but some of us are getting hit- hard. Hardworking parents are now struggling to keep their children fed. People who never would have imagined losing their homes are now living in homeless shelters and are praying for a way out.
The “junk” mail comes into your mailbox: ‘Please help Lucy get a meal this week. Your gift can prevent her from starving’- maybe you didn’t read that part of the letter because you saw that sad picture of Lucy and didn’t want any part of her life. You tossed her story in the garbage bin because she isn’t your daughter or sister or niece. But she is a real person with real needs who really needs your help. Marcus, Jenny, Teisa, Jamal, etc.- they all exist and all have stories that have been shared. They live in the inner cities and destitute communities of Atlanta.
Maybe like them, you are struggling with money. Times are tough and our checks aren’t always enough. But you can make a difference in someone else’s life.
Sign up for our newsletter or read stories on our website and allow yourself to feel love and compassion for your distant brothers and sisters. Whether you can give financially or not, God can hear your prayers for these loved ones. Nobody is asking you for a million dollars- we are asking for your heart. Will you continue to look away?
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