Mission Statement: To meet the needs of the whole person in the name of Jesus.
To provide spiritual and emotional support through listening and prayer, or referrals to other counselors, churches or pastors.
To educate individuals, churches, agencies and the community about the Stilwell Baptist Caring Ministry and to enlist their participation.
Who We Serve: Food items are distributed to needy persons in southern Johnson County, Miami County, and Linn County-specifically the communities of Aubrey/Stilwell, Gardner, Louisburg, Paola, and La Cygne. However, no one in need is turned away.
How We Serve: Day-old food is collected from local bakeries and grocery stores, brought to First Baptist Church, and distributed to individuals and organizations.
In addition, First Baptist Church offers the community a limited paper recycling. The money we earn from recycling goes to buy more food for the Food Pantry.
We are also one of 15 major distribution sites in the greater Kansas City area for the Harvesters food program.
How You May Serve: Here are some ways you can serve the Caring Ministry, depending on the time you can sacrifice:
*5 minutes-pray for this ministry *10 minutes-gather some canned goods to donate from your own pantry *20 minutes-cut UPC labels from Best Choice products or bundle your newspapers and magazines for recycling *1 hour-help clean the Food Pantry or stock shelves *2 hours-assist in collection and distribution of food items
How Our Ministry Began: The Caring Ministry began in 1998 as a vision of one woman in our church who wondered what became of the day-old bread that is removed daily from store shelves. When she discovered that much of it ends up in the local landfills, she challenged our congregation to help stop this wasteful practice by helping to collect the food and distribute it to the needy, especially those who do not qualify for government subsidies.
