Family to Family Initiative Begins

By Melissa Kramer

Trinity is ready to begin a new family-to-family ministry. Our team of dedicated volunteers has identified a need in our community to provide relational support to families in the Lafayette area. Through monthly meals and events, we hope to form lasting connections with the families we will be working with. No relationship can be one-sided, so the nature of this ministry is a partnership between the members of Trinity and the families. We want to get to know our neighbors, but we also want our neighbors to be able to know us.
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Trinity is partnering with Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM) in an effort to provide housing and respond to other identified needs for families in the Lafayette area. LUM will be handling the housing portion, while Trinity members will meet with the families on a monthly basis. These monthly gatherings will offer food and a time for families to grow together and connect with each other. Families will also be connected with church members on an as-needed basis to provide need-specific support.

We have identified three “tiers” or levels of volunteer commitment that will allow our church members to participate in this ministry without feeling overwhelmed. Our core group leading this ministry has met with Joe Micon, Executive Director at LUM, and will be organizing the monthly gatherings with the families. The second level of volunteers will be our “once a month” volunteers. Those who serve on a monthly basis will either make one monthly visit with a family, or they will be serving at the monthly meal. The third level is what we hope everyone will fall into. We will need occasional donated supplies that we will give to the families, as well as members of the church who have special resources/information/knowledge that they can share with the families. Maybe you have perfected the skill of budgeting and would like to help others learn how to budget. Or maybe you are a parent/grandparent and can empathize with other parents. We all have something that we can offer to others. In the coming weeks and months, be praying about how you would can enhance Trinity’s Family to Family Ministry. 

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