For the past decade, Newday church members have raised money at Christmastime for global organizations that tackle social issues they believe Jesus cares about. Each year, they “spend a little less so they can give a little more,” explains member Kim Kennedy.
In the past, they donated as much as $36,000. For 2016, with $40,000 in matching funds, they collected $96,400, an impressive amount that is already on its way to help people around the world whose lives are not as comfortable or safe as our lives in the United States. The members selected as one beneficiary World Relief, an organization supplying refugee families in Aleppo, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, with the essentials they need to survive. In January World Relief’s church partnership coordinator, Mark Lamb, flew in from Seattle to personally thank Newday’s members and receive their check for $40,000.
“Refugees are typically unwanted in the communities and countries they flee to,” said Lamb during his visit to Newday. “Welcoming the unwanted is one of the best expressions of the gospel.”
Another recipient of Newday’s generosity, International Justice Mission, is an organization that tackles injustice and modern-day slavery. They will receive a check for $45,000, an amount that will fund six rescue missions much like the operation that took place this month in Manila where nine boys and girls, ranging from 2 to 10 years in age, were rescued from two separate homes.
Caring for their neighbors who need a hand up is a way of life for Newday. They have benefited Parker Task Force/Food Bank in previous fundraisers, which they gave $10,000 to last month. The food bank is a non-profit dedicated to providing individuals and families in their community with food and other resources to help them become self-sufficient.
The final $4,400 from 2016 will go to Iquitos, Peru, to build a church, along with a home for an elderly woman.
