Frontline Community Church

We arrived right on time to the great city of Memphis, Tennessee. Before heading to bed our special “Easter Bunnies” hid  our Easter baskets throughout the sanctuary. We were so excited to find what the Easter bunny had left us the next morning, but it was the sweet notes from our families that made our day. 

Hope Fellowship Baptist Church is located in the Bent Tree Apartment Community. We enjoyed an excellent Sunday School lesson from the Pastor’s wife, Sandra on the topic Believe. She shared from her heart how important it was to believe and trust in God. Then Pastor James preached a message that gives us hope in all stages of our life. 

Located in the Memorial Park Cemetery is a historic man made cave created by the Mexican artist Rodriguez called the Crystal Shrine Grotto.  It tells the journey of Jesus Christ from birth to resurrection. As you walk into the cave you hear peaceful music and see multi-colored lights shining on the crystals. The crystals were shipped to Memphis from Diamond Cave in Jasper, Arkansas. What a beautiful way to spend a few moments reflecting on the life of Christ this Easter. 

We hit the road early this morning to deliver meals to the elderly. Between the three vehicles we delivered 52 meals and enjoyed meeting the people from all over the Memphis area and getting the opportunity to pray with several of them. 

Our job today was to sort and box food that had been donated to the Mid-South Food Bank.  This food would later be distributed throughout the county.

What a unique ministry located in an old hospital (Colin’s Chapel Hospital) back when segregation occurred and our African American communities could go for healthcare services and black doctors and nurses could practice there. It has now become Room in the Inn. Where there was no room for Joseph and Mary  back in Bethlehem, there is Room in this Inn for homeless families as well as homeless men who need help getting back on their feet and where homeless people battling cancer can call this home so that they can qualify for treatment. We were able to get several rooms ready for the next guests needing Room in the Inn. Where lives are changed and Jesus is proclaimed.

Located in eight different locations throughout Memphis, this ministry provides care for students after school. They were given a meal, a short devotion , free time to play group games in the gym, help with homework, and several other activities. We enjoyed interacting with the students and getting to play group games with them. 

Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are needy, hungry, or struggling. Today we prepared a hot meal for those in need. We also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and snacks for them to take.

Helping with the meals, making snacks, serving the food is important, but the soul of man is what it’s all about. One homeless man summed it up best when he told one of our students,” Thank you for the meal, but more important, thank you for the conversation “

We did not realize that we chose to visit the National Rights Museum on the anniversary of the shooting of Martin Luther King Junior. The event serves as a moment to reflect on the significant impact of his work and the path that lies ahead in the pursuit of justice and equality. It was a very insightful time as we experienced the history behind this in our country. 

This week we have been challenged to run the race set out before us “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Hebrews 12:1