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Children and youth focus of church-wide Christmas Offering INDIANAPOLIS, October 30, 2002 -- Ministries with children and youth are the focus for Disciples Christmas Offering. One of these children is Carla. For the first ten years of her life, she didn't know what love was. All she knew was getting slapped across the face, punched in the chest or screamed at because she was "worthless." Seldom cared for by her mother, Carla began hanging out with a group of older kids and bragged about being in a gang. Then she came to a special Disciples National Benevolent Association facility for children. During her healing process at NBA, Carla learned to understand and appreciate her inherent value. Today, she continues to stay on the right path. Carla is one of the good-news stories of the church. Children and youth ministries to help kids like her are highlighted during the 2002 Christmas Special Day Offering of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The offering is scheduled to be received in Disciples congregations on Sundays, Dec. 15 and 22. The Christmas Offering features youth and children ministries of the NBA, the Division of Overseas Ministries and the Division of Homeland Ministries. This Special Day Offering will support children and youth ministries among Disciples ten general outreach units and 33 regional ministries through Basic Mission Finance, the common mission fund of the 800,000-member denomination. Caring through NBA Here in North America, children like Carla in dire need of care are able to receive help through facilities for troubled and disturbed children provided by NBA based in St. Louis. Among its 94 facilities in 22 states, NBA provides six special facilities for children in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Missouri and Nebraska. At these facilities, NBA professionals help children like Carla. Alan, 8, is another good-news story. His life was in chaos. His dad had lost his job, and the family could barely make ends meet. Then his mom started having seizures but could not afford medication. Alan acted out his problems and became too disruptive to stay in public school. As a result, Alan was placed with NBA. There, he responded well to a structured environment and was eventually able to return home and to public school. His grades went from Ds and Fs to As and Bs, both his parents now have jobs, and his mom is on medication to help her with the seizures that threatened her health. Disciples Christmas Offering helps children like Carla and Alan. Caring through Overseas Ministries Through the Christmas Offering, Disciples provide help to children in far away places through the Division of Overseas Ministries working with the United Church of Christ as partners in Global Ministries. Songs and poems were gifts presented earlier this year to Global Ministries representatives by the Children's Village in Tibet, a program of Global Ministries Child Sponsorship Program. The program supports food, health care and schooling gifts received from individual church groups in North America. Also this year, a mission team attended the ground breaking for a new high school at one of the Child Sponsorship Centers in India. Through the Christmas Offering, Disciples enable churches to sponsor children through the Child Sponsorship Office. Caring through Homeland Ministries The Christmas Offering also supports ministries to children through Disciples Division of Homeland Ministries programs like KIDS-to-KIDS. More than 200 congregations participate in this outreach and have helped children through the "Look Around your Neighborhood" projects. Disciples have filled backpacks for refugee children and have sent school supplies to Disciples-related All Peoples Christian Center in Los Angeles, Yakama Christian Mission Center in White Swan, Wash., Inman Center in San Antonio, Texas, and the Child Saving Institute in Omaha, Neb. The Christmas Offering is one of four Special Day Offerings received during the year for Basic Mission Finance, the common means that finance Disciples general and regional ministries. For more information about the mission and ministry of the Disciples of Christ, contact the Disciples of Christ Web site at www.disciples.org. For resource materials to promote the Christmas Special Day Offering, contact the Church Finance Council Web site at www.churchfinancecouncil.org or by e-mail to shirley@cfc.disciples.org. Resources also are available by calling 317-713-2440. -- End -- Download Christmas 2002 full page ad and 4 ads. 02-92 Contact: |