Editorial: Support the Hunger Offering, enrich desperate lives

You wouldn’t think Camelia, Haley and James have anything in common. But you’d be wrong:

• Camelia—an abandoned teenage mother, starving and forlorn.

• Haley—a rape-victim-turned-prison-inmate, looking to care for her child, reunite with her family and turn her life around.

• James—a depressed, disabled, divorced middle-aged man, wondering if he would eat at the end of the month.

Marv KnoxOf course, Camelia, Haley and James shared the despairer’s diet of shame, hopelessness and sorrow. But that’s not their most important common trait. They all discovered hope in Christ, thanks to the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering.

Camelia lives in Romania, and in her starvation she turned to a bakery that serves impoverished Gypsies. A Baptist church that operates bakeries made sure Camelia and her baby ate. Church members also made sure she received the gospel, and now she’s preparing to be baptized. And the church is pulling other Gypsies from the brink of starvation, providing bread for their bodies and Jesus’ hope for their souls.

Haley’s rape turned her young life upside down. “The amount of shame … is enough to shut you down,” she explained. In anger and pain, she rejected her family and ran away. She turned to gangs and heroin, and she wound up in the criminal justice system. After her release, she found Exodus Ministries in Dallas, which provided food and shelter for her and her baby, as well as classes to turn her life around, reunion with her family and new hope in Jesus.

Stretched resources

James’ wife left him not long after his health failed and he lost his job. When he stretched his resources as far as he could, and that wasn’t far enough, he found Christian Community Assistance in Fort Worth. The staff made sure he didn’t starve at the end of every month. They also listened to him. Loved him. Walked him through depression and back toward hope.

The Romanian church that bakes bread for Gypsies, Exodus Ministries and Christian Community Assistance all receive support from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. If you supported the offering, you made a difference in Camelia’s, Haley’s and James’ life—and the lives of thousands of other people across Texas and around the world.

Supports more than 100 ministries

The Texas Baptist Hunger Offering supports more than 100 ministries. They range from community gardens in San Antonio and Waco, to a poultry project for women in Mozambique. From a dental clinic in Alvin, to a rehab camp for sex-trafficking victims in Moldova. From food distribution in Abilene and New Caney, to food for children in China, Guatemala and Kenya.

Texas Baptists collect funds for our Hunger Offering throughout the year, but we pay special attention—and take up funds in our churches—on fifth Sundays. The next time we’ll worship on a fifth Sunday in the same month is March 31. The other fifth Sundays this year are June 30, Sept. 29 and Dec. 29.

How to help

If your church isn’t already collecting for the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, step up and lead out. You can get resources from the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission by visiting its offering website, www.texasbaptists.org/hungeroffering, or calling (214) 828-5190.

And even if your church doesn’t collect the offering, you can contribute. Give online at www.texasbaptists.org/hungeroffering, or mail a check, payable to “Hunger Offering” to Christian Life Commission/BGCT, 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246.