COMPASSION CORNER

Answered Prayers Part 1

I attended my first ACS board meeting in January 2021 via Zoom. Slowly, I started to learn the names that went with the voices of the other board members from our sister churches. I also learned that our Center was experiencing serious struggles. The thrift store sales that had once helped provide a decent income to offset our expenses had dropped severely due to forced closure and “social distancing” restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19. We were in debt to the IA-MO Conference due to lack of funds to pay the frugal salaries of our handful of employees. And for a period of time, our bank account was completely empty of any money to pay our monthly bills. Emergency meetings were called. Board members searched for ways to make our already meager budget, less. Monthly bills were reviewed and reduced as able. With heavy hearts, it was decided to cut employee hours in half. The building we had leased for many years was sold to an investor in California and it was clear he intended to raise rent every year. A Building Search Committee was formed in February of 2022 to hopefully find a new location, but it was quickly evident we could not afford rent anywhere else. We discussed relocating the ACS to one of the churches in order to reduce rent expense. Pests became, well, quite the pest. Mice, rats, cockroaches, fruit flies. All kinds of critters seemed to be descending upon us, and despite employing pest control companies, there was little improvement. Our van was stolen and impounded, which required additional funds to get our vehicle back. There were attempts to break into our building. At the end of August 2023, our manager gave notice. At Pastor Darren Robinson’s urging, we decided to dedicate ourselves to 10 Days of Prayer to surrender our will to God for His leading. Pastor Darren sent us a study on Nehemiah and at the conclusion of our study, we gathered at the Center. This was a pivotal time for our ACS as we discussed our plans for operations moving forward. Were we making a difference in the community? Were we truly showing God’s love to others? Were we portraying our church as God would want? We searched our hearts for these answers. We reflected on Matthew 25:35-36 “for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me.”

(To be continued in our next issue of Compassion Corner!)

By Lauren Thompson, ACS Chair

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VOLUNTEERS

Help in our Food Pantry

and Clothing Section

• Tuesdays & Thursdays:

• 10 AM - 3 PM

• 1st & 3rd Wednesdays:

• 4 PM - 7 PM

Any amount of time helps,

you don’t have to stay the

whole shift! Call us at (314)

429-0216 for additional

information and to be put

on the schedule!

DONATIONS

• Eggs, milk, fresh produce

• Non-perishable food items

• Baby Formula

• Monetary donations to purchase essentials

Click here for a full list of accepted donations.

Check it out

Thanks to our donors - new wi-fi thermostats have been installed throughout the building!

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Special Thanks

There are so many people whose efforts make our work possible. In this issue, we want focus our heartfelt gratitude to our behind the scenes workers and the subsidizing churches. Each church provides financial support and also nominates members of our Board of Directors. These board members work to secure finances, communicate with the public about what we do, maintain our building and fill in for employees as needed.

• Central Church - Marlin Anderson, Nate Branch, Duane Miller, Clarence Wilson

• Hispanic Church - Charo Felix, Polo Felix

• Mid Rivers Church - Diane Berman, Rusty Gehrlein, Karen Hicks

• Southside Church - Mary Burns, Dorothee Louis, Fred Nyanzi

• West County Church - Brian Clark, Lauren Thompson, Sarah Wilcox

You're Invited

The ACS will have an OPEN HOUSE for our subsidizing churches on SUNDAY, April 12 from 1-3 pm. Come and see the Center and how we spread the Gospel and show God’s love by providing prayer, food, clothing and other resources to the community.