Orlando Church Raises Unprecedented $5.6 Million to Aid Poor and Homeless Families
- Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:59pm by
Billy Hallowell
- Print »
- Email »
Back in March, visiting preacher and author Bruce Wilkinson spoke at First Baptist Church of Orlando, where he challenged congregants to help the poor, while urging them to give and “sacrifice like you have never sacrificed before.” The results of a subsequent offering were astounding.
The congregation brought in a record $5.6 million in pledges — a figure that perplexed even the church’s leaders. But, as the Orlando Sentinel reports, once the initial shock wore off, leaders began to wonder how to best use the funds:
“Immediately afterward, people [in need] started showing up on our doorstep,” said the church’s senior associate pastor, Danny de Armas. “We didn’t want to send people away, but it wasn’t appropriate to just start handing out money. Our goal was not to treat the symptoms, but to treat causes.”
…But rather than simply dole out the offering to a handful of worthy charities, the church has decided to partner with local nonprofit organizations to address a range of issues, from homeless prevention to food for impoverished elementary-school kids to transitional housing.
Pastor de Armas says that, although the church needs to feed people in the short term, it cannot afford to do so forever. Thus, the church body is committed to forging partnerships that will serve the poor through the non-profit sector.
So far, the church has created eight relationships with outside organizations. These strategic alliances will put the $5.6 million to good use, as the diverse non-profit partners work to help the homeless get legal documentation, secure employment, obtain student mentoring services and gain access to food and nourishment. Robert Stuart, the executive director of Christian Service Center, one of the church’s partners, said:
“I believe that what happened at First Baptist is a modern-day miracle.”
The church has taken the burden of helping the poor very seriously, as leaders have created a local homelessness outreach within its walls. The ministry, called “Love Orlando,” was intended to assist the church in balancing the international ministry trips it was already funding with some domestic, localized aid. Last month, Pastor de Armas explained the “Love Orlando” initiative in detail and highlighted the ministry’s mission:
In addressing how the aid project has come together, Pastor de Armas says:
“This whole thing caught us by surprise, but it didn’t catch God by surprise. A lot of what was happening within the fellowship of the church turned out to be preparation for the offering.”
So far, $2.1 million is on hand, with an additional $3.5 million scheduled to flow in by March 2012. The money that has been doled out has already helped prevent homelessness, while assisting families in affording their electric bills and rent. In the fall, the church will expand to provide food pantries in 13 local schools. This will enable children to secure much-needed nourishment for their families.
First Baptist Church of Orlando has made it clear that its ministry will be well thought through and meticulously planned. The overall goal seems to be helping people out of poverty rather than simply providing short-term relief (though projects address both immediate and long-term needs). For more information about “Love Orlando,” click here.
Popular Stories
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 570 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 395 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 386 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 369 Comments
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 331 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 386 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 395 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 331 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 150 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 386 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (85)
LION4JESUS
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:24pmWe cant have Christians doing the right thing can we? This will offend the marxists.
Report Post »GRAMPA-D-NH
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:55pmGod bless the Orlando faithful and their sacrifice. Hopefully the charity will open hearts and change lives. In my experience, the vast majority of “the needy” show up to take from Christian charity with unthankful, entitled hearts. Competition from the welfare state has ingrained victimization and entitlement perpetuating the “feed a person for a day” vs. the “teach a person to fish” principal. I’m impressed that this church is seeking to address the causes too.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:54pmLion4Jesus:
The marxists and socialist progressives along with the administrations Social Justice Junk ideals are shown throughout history to be nothing more than lies and useless ideals; the truth of a Christian is not just in the words, it is in the deeds and ideals that we hold to in the doing…and if it makes the marxists mad, so be it.
Glad this article was written and so many good posts are being left. It shows the hope and charity that America is famous for, despite what the left leaning unto collapse media and administration may try to get us to believe.
Report Post »Lonescrapper
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 7:04pmare they licensed to hand out food? The government doesn’t want anyone handing out food without their approval.
Report Post »SusanKoble
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:27pmSome things are apolitical. Just enjoy that.
Report Post »Blazergirl
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:15pmNow that‘s what I’m talking about! THIS is the America I know and love. Imagine if every town in the US did this. The nanny-state would cease to exist. People would learn how “to fish” and take care of themselves. God bless Orlando! (OOPS! He already has!) Glenn Beck would be proud.
Report Post »ofallon
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:24pmAmerica the Beautiful. God bless the generous saints in Orlando.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:54pmAmen, and hence why the nation is called America the BEAUTIFUL, for we do what we preach for the most part among the people.
Report Post »NWalters78
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:21pmOh My Dear Lord, those horrible Christians! Look how intolerant THEY are being! Stop helping! Stop it! Wow, sucks to be the so-called Humanists, doesn’t it? Let’s see they say Christians are selfish, nasty, petty, etc. Who gives more? Religious folks. And don’t use Bill Gates, despite his giving, it’s relatively cheap compared to his net worth and income. Funny how the so-called Humanists are so much more tolerant and supposedly big-hearted, but who seems to raise the most money, serve in poor areas, and help folks in general. It’s those g-d Christian Bible thumpers! Take that, Bill Maher.
Report Post »zoro51
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:05pmfor once good news!!! this is how n why america is great!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:14pmThe Baptist church anyway.
Report Post »bruce_baker
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:59pmAlmost all the comments I’ve read here are 100% right on. True charity is about giving what is needed, sometimes rather than what is asked for.
If we could get government off our backs, even more people could participate. That’s what is needed, not more War on Poverty nonsense that ends up chaining people to a life of poverty.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:07pmI would bet that all of it ends up where it’s suppose to go and Not filtered through people in high places.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:11pmWashington would have needed ten billion dollars to equal this effort.
Report Post »Oh, God!
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:58pmOur family has been struggling for 2 1/2 years. Late on mortgage, late on utilities, late on everything. We lost friends, one’s who we thought we could lean on in times of trouble. We were not asking for handouts, we just stuck to our guns and plowed on through. Many people, friends included, have the mind set now, that the government will help, they have foodstamps, medicaid, mortgage help. I see this being the number one reason most people won’t help, because the government will. Are we doing better today than last year? Yes, we have our health, our 4 kids are healthy and we still have our house we saved up to buy 14 years ago. The funny thing is, whenever we were trying to figure out where the money was going to come from to pay for things, my mom helped out. She passed away in 2007, but she has managed to watch over us and make sure we are OK.
Report Post »Hiswill
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:30pmThe government would need at least 2 1/2 million just to do the paper work.
Report Post »workinghard
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:51pmCharity is residistribution of wealth without the middleman (govt). If the government was really in it to help the poor they would be encouraging this type of help by giving better tax advantages for doing so.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:45pmWhat, no comment MONICNE about how you donate to charity with your $300,000 job?
Report Post »Thank God, there are still charitable people out there who give from the heart and faithful people who donate their time to help. Trying times are coming.
republic2011
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:41pmAnd they will distribute it more efficiently and more honorably than the government. We don’t need entitlement programs hosted by government. Look what we can do on our own, as a people. This is what the progressives don’t want you to understand.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:37pmI love to hear the stories such as this; so long as the money truly goes for the helping of the needy it is intended for and not most of it going into a charities coffers for bills and salaries. It shows indeed that contrary to what the admin and the news are almost always howling about (how uncaring and greedy we Americans are, except for the socialist government, congress and those churches who are social justice adherants) Americans are the worlds most giving and caring of people.
Report Post »SPOT_OF_TEA
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:27pmThis is how we were suppose to take care of the needy…Then politicians thought of a great way to buy votes….Now look at the mess we are in.
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:37pmYou are so right!! And worse yet, look at how our tax money is used…..foreign dictators, scrimp on treadmills, croneyism with payoffs….just total waste! Then, when the poor and needy go to govt agencies, they are treated with no dignity, no respect…….made to feel like worthless pieces of garbage!! After a while of being treated like that….they start to believe it…….and we have today’s culture!!! Why did we let them get away with this for so long??????
Report Post »NWalters78
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:24pmDanged right. Government can butt out, only if WE the private folks and church members do our part. Be nice to free up those so-called needed entitlement funds, eh? What oh what would the libs do without having to pay off voters?
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:26pmHigh 5
Report Post »frustratedwithgovt
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:23pmA great example of why we don’t need the government to take care of us. We need to get back to taking care of each other.
Report Post »Matlor
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:22pmChurches like this & The American Red Cross.
God Bless Them!
Report Post »patriotsofworkingamerica
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:22pmThe Lord works in mysterious ways. People gather in a community, decide a course of action, implement the plan. Distribute the funds to the needy. The Govt. shows up and wants a cut. Churches were and still are the first line of defense against homlessness and malnutrition. Anyone care to explain how the Red Cross started? The public contributed $400 million in funds and material to support Red Cross programs, including those for American and Allied forces and civilian refugees. The Red Cross staffed hospitals and ambulance companies and recruited 20,000 registered nurses to serve the military.- Just a small example of concerned citizens figuring it out.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:22pm.
This may be some kind of “PROGRESSIVE TRICK”. All ya‘ll don’t start clapping like a bunch of trained seals just yet. Let‘s see how this play’s out.
But if it is for real “Good Job God”……
Report Post »Kristy
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:13pmIt’s the real thing. My mom goes to that church.
Report Post »BQI
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:20pmGod has and will continue to Bless them. We must continue to fight Obama’s interest to eliminate charitable deductions although these good folks would not be deterred if he did.
Conservative blog: Black Quill and Ink—www.blackquillandink.com
Report Post »agameofthrones
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:18pmThis is true charity. Also finding out how best to meet long term needs through various community partnerships gives those in need a chance to exert themselves in their own behalf. A hand-out really helps no one. They are to be commended for doing a great service to the needy in their area. Oh, and they didn’t have to pass a 1500 page bill to get this done. True freedom, true charity!
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:18pmCan’t be true. Only government can take care of the poor and unfortunate.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:15pmThe churches built the first hospitals and schools in America. We as Christians and like-minded individuals need to step up to the plate.
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:13pmThis is what America looks like! And how they act, compssionate and true.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:22pmThat’s exactly why Obama is eyeing charitable contribution deductions. He (and his ilk) believe they know better how to distribute the money than that church does.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:12pmThat church has exceded their ‘call of duty’. Good for them.
Report Post »I Hear the Wolves
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:27pmThey haven’t exceeded anything. They are simply obeying. They are doing a great thing, but it is no more than we all (who call ourselves Christians) have been called to. It is nice to see it getting some recognition, though.
Report Post »suzyeh20
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:12pmThis is awesome! A much needed POSITIVE story about our country!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:11pm“The overall goal seems to be helping people out of poverty rather than simply providing short-term relief”
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. ”
Just goes to show that charity is better handled on the local level directly by the public than distributed from Washington.
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:57pmMaybe they should donate the money to the republican presidential nominee…fixing the country and putting people back to works will do more for the poor and homeless than some new shoes and a couple hot meals.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:10pmFaith, hope and charity, the Glenn Beck way.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:07pmAnd this is America.. Mr. Olberman nneds to see this one! American’s can do it.. we always have, always will. God Bless Floridians for helping the poor. We can all do this everywhere! Although we have been for decades with welfare.. we can even do more!
Report Post »flaboater1
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:05pmImage what people charitable people cound do if they had the money back in their pockets from all the government waste and welfare…
Report Post »CatB
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:12pmExactly! Charity is better handled by local citizens .. than “distributed” from Washington.
Report Post »timjohnson1967
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:12pmAmen!
Report Post »