At its very core, Somebody Cares has always been about showing others that we the Church, care, because God cares for us. Indeed, it is this very act of caring that opens doors for others to see the love of Christ shine through us!
One of the practical ways that Somebody Cares Tampa Bay (SCTB) reaches out is through its Back to School program. Each year, SCTB places hundreds of backpacks in the hands of ministries around the city. One of these ministries is Love’s Way Out, a women-to-women outreach to exotic dancers in strip clubs around Tampa Bay. Each Fall they bring backpacks to the dancers for their children.
When they deliver these practical supplies they often receive heartfelt hugs and “thank yous”, as the mothers express how much they needed a backpack for their kids. This past year, Love’s Way Out visited a new club.
When the manager came to see who the ladies were delivering the backpacks, he started sharing that he had grown up in a Christian home, his dad a pastor, and he went to a Christian college. He said he “hadn’t seen this kind of love in action in a long time”, and that the team was welcome any time to come visit the club! Little did he know that Love’s Way Out would also be fervently praying for him to return to his Father.
As the team entered the club and started giving out backpacks, several dancers broke down and cried. They explained that they were dancing to earn extra money for clothes and school supplies for their kids. They couldn’t believe God was answering their need that very evening! In the parking lot, they met a woman who said she prays to her Heavenly Father for protection every time she goes to work, but as she received a backpack for her son, she too broke down as she realized that indeed, “God really IS my Father!”
There are many more powerful stories of how this simple, practical act of love –the giving of school backpacks – so profoundly reveals the care and love of our Heavenly Father! Please pray for Somebody Cares Tampa Bay and other chapters who reach out to families through Back to School outreaches and all year round. Your support helps bring the tangible love of God to hurting people in communities around the country. Donate Now!
Matt. 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ”