TEAM Prayer Highlights

Churches Serving Together...

“Together Evangelizing And Ministering to the Rochester Area”

In January, we established new partnerships with two local ministries:

Champion Basketball offers the community recreational basketball leagues for youth in the fall and children in the winter months. This past season 420 players participated in this community-wide sports ministry activity.
Sharing Tree distributes clothing, furnishings, and other personal items that are new or gently used solely by way of donations and volunteer assistance. This year TEAM is partnering with Sharing Tree at In His Name food distributions to assist with this local outreach on a monthly basis.

In February, we expanded our relationships in two key ministry areas:

The Ministry Prayer Center joined with Bethany United Methodist Church to open up a 24/7 Prayer Room. Intercessors now have the opportunity to gather and pray in a dedicated location any time of day.
The Rochester Christian Sports Network now includes seven local ministries serving together to support and advance Kingdom efforts through these growing ministry relationships in the Rochester Athletic Community.

In March, we began distributing food boxes on two Saturdays each month:

The focus of this expanded operation is providing food and clothing on both the second and fourth Saturdays to people in need in our community.
Two different local churches (Berean Community Church and Hope Summit Christian Church) now serve as our host site facilities for this ongoing outreach.

In April, we received confirmation of two grant awards for TEAM Ministries:

Thrivent Financial Group provided a sizeable matching gift corresponding to a donation given by the family of one of our volunteer In His Name team leaders.
Rochester Area Foundation awarded us a significant gift of $10,000 which is also part of a matching contribution we have been given to be used for advancing our food and clothing efforts by providing for expanded resources and storage space.

In May, TEAM participated in two community-wide outreach efforts:

Through our Community in Prayer week and the National Day of Prayer, we hosted a Ministry Fair that included 25 local ministry organizations and involved the participation of almost 20 local churches.
TEAM and Sharing Tree partnered with Calvary Evangelical Free Church to "find, fill, and float" a Relief Bus to Haiti for a missions outreach ministry there.

In June, we participated in the Fifth Annual Rochester CareFest:

The 2010 city-wide outreach effort involved over 1400 volunteers serving on 55 separate work sites from more than 30 different local churches.
We packed more than a ton of clothes, food, furnishings, school supplies, and medical equipment into the Relief Bus that has now been shipped to Haiti.

In 2010, through TEAM Ministries and In His Name, we have already given away more than 1250 food boxes and 125 Bibles or New Testaments; at the same time, Sharing Tree has ministered to over 175 different households. On average, 90+ volunteers participate in our food distribution activities on the second and fourth Saturday every month; and, there are now more than 30 local churches and ministry organizations serving together in a variety of community outreach activities on a monthly basis.

A Testimony to "God-at-Work"

Last month, a member of the In His Name Coordination Team was asked to deliver a food box with some extra produce and supplies to a family in LaCrosse, WI. This family with younger children has been struggling to make ends meet.

Recently, the husband had to terminate a "sales" position because he could not afford the gas and travel it was requiring of him. At the same time, he has been taking care of his blind mother and paying her personal bills for several months. The children have been emptying their "piggy banks" in order to help pay for food and groceries. And, the concern was that it could take "some time" for them to get "back on their feet."

We were informed that the family had not had food or proper meals in three days. The kids were eating cereal and the parents were going without meals. The food box that was being delivered was quite full and contained items such as potatoes, carrots, apples, yogurt, bread, canned goods, and fruit drinks.

We were told that their son "loved" carrots, and the kids "were devouring the yogurt and drinks." The food had come "at just the right time" and they wanted us to know how much they appreciated the "unexpected gift." Our team member reported, "it is evident that they have been blessed by this." It is the reason we reach out to our community and offer this tangible support. (Note: This month, we delivered two boxes to the family, and a third box to another family nearby.)

Our team member's concern, however, went beyond the food and tangible support. She wrote, "I think that we should be praying that this family finds Jesus, if they do not already know him. And, if they do, that He gets all the glory!" Praise the Lord! Amen!!