Winter Relief Homeless Shelter Riva Trace Baptist Church: March 3 - 10, 2008
The Winter Relief Program is an emergency shelter for homeless men and women during the winter months. Approximately 35 churches across Anne Arundel County participate in this program every year. Our church, now in its fifth year in the program, will be a shelter home for 20-30 homeless men and women from Monday, March 3 - March 10, 2008. Our homeless guests will be visiting our church each evening from about 5:45 until 7:30am the following day. The shelter will be set up in the gym. We will, in essence, become a full-time shelter for that one week.
Volunteers are needed and will have opportunities in the following ministry areas: sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, practicing discipleship, leading Bible Study, preparing-cooking & serving meals, providing transportation, serving as night hosts/monitors, providing Christian based entertainment & education, running errands, doing laundry, marketing programs in the church, supporting utilities, and setting up and breaking down the shelter at the beginning and end of the week. In all of these ministry areas we are personally demonstrating Christ's' love to the homeless.
The shelter provides the men breakfast, a bag lunch, dinner, snacks, showers, and a safe, warm place in a loving environment to spend the cold winter nights.
The men and women are picked up at the Intake Center in Glen Burnie. The Intake Center screens the men and women for behavior, and may administer alcohol breath test and police background checks before allowing them into the shelter program.
We (RTBC volunteers) transport our guests from the Glen Burnie Intake Center to Riva Trace Baptist Church each day, arriving at the church between 5:45pm and 6:00pm. Dinner is served between 6:00pm and 6:15pm. After dinner, it's free time until 10:00pm. Free time includes the above mentioned ministries, plus things like Christian videos and coordinated entertainment, checkers, chess, cards, and movies. Lights are out at 10:00pm. Breakfast is served at 6:30am, and we then bus our neighbors back to the Intake Center in Glen Burnie between 7:00am and 7:30am.
This week-long program involves approximately 250 of our church volunteers. Please pray and consider how God would use you and your talents in this week's special opportunity to love your Lord through loving your neighbors.
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