“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. – Matthew 7:7
The Start Of Something New
On October 3rd of 2019, I remember waking up with a pit of nerves in my stomach The work that had marked most of my time since starting at Creekwood that summer was going to culminate that evening with the kickoff of Open Door. I had coffee with a friend who also does ministry with people who have disabilities and special needs She encouraged me that all of the planning, preparing, and praying was just enough, and I needed to trust God to do the rest…
And God has (as always) come through!
Open Door Events
Since October 3rd, 2019, Creekwood UMC has hosted 25 official monthly gatherings inside of our church building, outside locations like Pinstack, the delightfully chaotic space of Zoom, and special drive-thru events in our parking lot!
In those 25 events, we have had:
- 105 individuals with disabilities and special needs attend at least one of our events. (This includes 81 guests joining us at least once in the past twelve months, 46 scheduled to come this week, with about 20 of our regular guests participating in Special Olympics Championships.)
- 70 individuals from Creekwood have volunteered with Open Door at least once. These volunteers range from 85 years old to 3 years old and everything in between
- 1 special Live Nativity show tailored specifically for our guests and their needs to invite their friends to attend one of Creekwood’s bridge events.
- 2 Scout Troops host special events for our guests, 1 high school fishing team, 1 high school show choir sings Christmas carols and 2 visits from Santa. (That’s right, I know Santa. Feel free to inform your children of this fact.)
- Countless laughs, smiles, hugs, songs, and LOVE along the way.
We’re Getting Noticed
Each month we plan, prepare, and pray, and then we put on our Open Door shirts, show up, and trust God to do the rest!
Our work with Open Door has been noticed by the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church when they came to write an article about our ministry
And this year, the rest of the world will know about our work here at Creekwood…more on that later.
Budgeting Matters
To do all of our normal programs, our Open Door budget for this year will be about $6,000. This covers many specific materials and enough support to help provide dinner to our guests and their parents each month.
My goal is to get all of that money raised in the month of October and ask you to consider giving a birthday gift to Open Door to celebrate our ministry turning THREE! You can leave your birthday gift in our Missions Giving Buckets in the sanctuary, or designate your gift to missions through our online giving portal, and we will put it towards Open Door.
It’s never too late to get involved relationally! Let me know if you are interested in volunteering with Open Door, and we will get you started ASAP!
So help me wish Open Door a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Keri Lynn Lucas
Give to the Ministries of Creekwood
Help Feed The Youth Group
Help With The Pumpkin Patch
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