A Call to Action

By Kent Fillinger

What do these have in common? A care package, personal hygiene items, a Christmas card, a snack pack for the Super Bowl, a long-distance phone card, a box of Girl Scout cookies, a Bible devotional book, a miniature decorated Christmas tree, and a sermon CD.

These have all been sent to American military personnel by the Military Support Group at Connection Pointe Christian Church of Brownsburg (Indiana) since spring 2003.

These gifts extend beyond simple acts of kindness to demonstrations of love and concern. They transcend political parties and theories on military strategy. They are a source of encouragement to the men and women serving our country around the world.

Read some of the letters of gratitude from our soldiers and their families:

I returned from Iraq earlier this month. Thank you for your wonderful support and prayers during my deployment. I was very touched by the amazing number of cards and letters I received from your church, especially over Christmas. I really appreciate all your church has done to support me and other soldiers deployed during these difficult times for our nation. I will try to stay in touch, and if I am able to travel through Indiana this summer, I would like to stop by and thank you all personally.

 

 

I want everyone who sent care packages and Christmas cards to know they have helped make Christmas bearable for my family. Tim got a lot [of items] from friends and family and then more from the church. You guys are awesome! God sure must smile when he sees all the hard work you do to keep the morale and families in prayer throughout this difficult deployment.

 

 

Greetings from Iraq, where Arabian nights are as hot as Arabian days. I can”t even begin to tell you how much your letters and packages help. It”s the simple things from home that brighten up someone”s day over here.

I wanted to thank you for your care packages full of your love and time. It meant a lot to me and my battle buddies. We enjoyed every picture, drawing, and the personal items, food, and letters. It lifted our spirits, and we are truly grateful for your kindness. We are safely back in the States, and we thank you for your prayers.

Called to Action

The Connection Pointe Military Support Group started in spring 2003 as an effort to support two families in the church who had children serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group soon decided it needed to do more than sit around and provide sympathy.

Just as the soldiers were called into action, the group decided it was their duty to respond in action as well. It launched a churchwide initiative to provide tangible support and prayer for the soldiers who are serving and the families who are waiting and watching.

It identified its mission as supporting members of the United States military and their families. Its efforts serve to encourage and support all of our troops and their families left behind, to keep our military in the forefront of everyone”s thoughts and prayers, and to be a witness to the love of Christ to all they touch.

The group meets twice monthly, once for project planning and once for prayer and support. The group provides encouragement and has been encouraged in the process. Brenda Leive, the Military Support Group team leader, said, “The camaraderie we experience with each other, knowing someone else has actually had a child in a war zone and lived to tell about it (is worth it all). We can laugh and cry with each other, and we”ve done a lot of both.”

The group started with a core of five volunteers and has grown to number 33, with another dozen who help periodically. New families from the community have also been attracted to the church through this ministry effort.

This group enlists the support and involvement of the entire church family and together it serves and supports more than 50 soldiers around the world, with about half of those stationed in Iraq.

In addition to the regular care package shipments, there also is an Adopt-A-Soldier program. Church members are encouraged to pray for these solders individually, and to send notes of encouragement and birthday cards to them.

An Extended Vision

In November 2006, one of the team members, Gary Strader, whose son, Sgt. Morgan Strader, was killed in action in Fallujah two years prior, created a Thanksgiving themed PowerPoint presentation that was shown in 68 different countries, including China, Brazil and Germany, all 50 states, 13 churches, and one Army installation. In all, it was viewed by more than 983,000 people.

The group also designed and produced “Prayer Warrior” coins to encourage the church to remember our soldiers in daily prayer. This generated community interest, so the Military Support Group now makes coins available to the public for a minimal donation. To receive additional information or to place an order, send an e-mail to [email protected].

The Military Support Group”s vision extends even further and it has created a Web site and blog for soldiers and their families (www.cpmsglife.org).

Edward Everett Hale said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” This has been the underlying drive of the Military Support Group, and its commitment has inspired soldiers and citizens alike.

 

 

You Can Form a Group!

One goal of Connection Pointe Christian Church”s Military Support Group is for other churches to start similar groups. The group would like to serve as a resource center for new groups. Team leader Brenda Leive offers the following advice:

First, contact the group at Connection Pointe to learn more about the ins and outs of sending packages, what to send, customs forms, and dealing with post offices. (Reach them at [email protected].)

Second, start a prayer list and prayer time for your adopted soldiers, but do more than that””write cards to let the soldiers know they are being prayed for.

Third, don”t expect responses. Leive tells everyone that most of these military people are 19- to 20-year-old men who don”t even write their own mothers, much less strangers. But continue to send your support because they need and appreciate it.

 

 

Kent Fillinger is outreach pastor with Connection Pointe Christian Church, Brownsburg, Indiana.