At the very heart of the meaning of Christmas is the fact that God gave His Son for the forgiveness of our sins and to secure for us a Forever Future with Him!
At Freedom, we are so very grateful for the life-changing message of Jesus that has so profoundly impacted our lives. It is the reason we financially support missionaries and ministry centers around the world, in our nation, in our state, and in our local community.
Randy and Mary Jane Merren sensed a call from the Lord in 2017 to begin a ministry to refugees in the greater Detroit area. Hope International Center became established and numbers of families (mostly from Syria and Afghanistan) have already been helped. The remaining electrical and construction work on the building is currently being completed and they are ready to move to the “next steps” in their efforts.
This year, we are hoping to fund two of their specific needs through our CHRISTMAS TREE OF HOPE giving.
The facilities will now be able to be used to provide short term housing for refugees. There is a crucial and continuing need to provide temporary housing for one to two weeks until more permanent housing is secured. This will cost approximately $5,000 to provide the food/utilities for this next year.
Randy and Mary Jane also have a dream of providing educational help to the children of refugees in order to help them succeed in the public school system. It will cost approximately $5,000 to purchase the curriculum and program which can then be used on a continuing basis.
As usual, different “Christmas Ornament Dollar Amounts” will be placed on the trees in the Campus Cafes and will be available for people to take to indicate the amount they plan to give. You can give as a part of an In Person offering at one of our campuses or online through our church website. When giving online, please be sure to select the “Tree of Hope” account in the drop down menu.
Please see the back of this to see the number of special projects that have already been completed in 2021 as a result of the generosity of so many. Let’s finish off the year strongly by meeting this $10,000 goal!