As the number of Packathons conducted by Feed the Hunger grows, one of the core values that we have increasingly emphasized is our flexibility. We want to be flexible in both the size of our events and in the destination of the food. God has directed us to this position, and we embrace it joyfully as we see Him use Feed the Hunger to accomplish His purposes in areas outside of our traditional focus.
Perhaps there is no better example of this dynamic taking shape than our recent growing relationship with Lake Norman Baptist Church (LNBC) in North Carolina. We met a key mission leader of the church at a Baptist mission conference where Feed the Hunger had a booth on display. This mission leader saw our Packathon event as a catalyst to mobilize his fellow church members towards real mission activity.
LNBC had existing relationships with international mission networks in both Moldova and Haiti. However, they knew that very few from their congregation had the ability to travel to either of those places to directly minister to the people. So for them, the question was, “How can we help as many from our congregation as possible play an important ministry role in those two nations without having to travel there?” Together, we designed a Packathon event to primarily benefit the Moldova and Haiti ministries – as it turned out, a Packathon was the perfect solution!
Last year, LNBC partnered with us to design an event that would have an impact both locally and around the world. They retained a portion of the food for distribution in the United States and have since shared that food in and around Charlotte, as well as in West Virginia, Brooklyn, and most recently in South Carolina following the historic flooding. Most of this food was delivered by members of LNBC. For Moldova, they arranged for some of the pallets they produced to be drop shipped to their partners there. For Haiti, since that is a FtH country of distribution, they collected a few pallets from us once they had arrived and distributed meals to the children connected to their Haitian ministry.
One unique touch that LNBC added to their Packathon shifts was to have each station sign a notecard before packing. They would then photocopy that card and place it inside the box on top of the 240 servings of food before the box was sealed. This simple gesture went a long way in helping people understand the real impact their Packathon involvement made. As people from the church participated in the distribution of these meals, they would open the box and see their friends’ signatures – sometimes even their own! One member who made the trip saw his own signature on a card posted on the fridge of a person in Moldova who received meals. The recipient kept the notecard and prayed for the people on the card consistently.
After their first Packathon, as stories were told of how food was shared in Christ-centered and life-saving ways, more members of LNBC were inspired to take part. They saw in real ways how they could have real influence for the kingdom on people they may never meet simply by packaging meals at their church’s Packathon. Last year, at their first event, about 300 people from LNBC participated in packing meals. This year over 500 people participated and they produced 70% more food!
We give thanks for our growing partnership with Lake Norman Baptist and count it a privilege to be used by God in a small way to advance what He was already doing within their fellowship. Perhaps God wants to do something similar in your congregation, school, or business. We’re ready and we’re flexible!
Scott Hahn | Packathon Director