July 1, 2002
Longview church gives everything but the kitchen sink
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___LONGVIEW--First Baptist Church of Longview gave away the love of Christ on a recent Sunday, along with couches, refrigerators, lawn mowers, hot dogs and soft drinks.
___People began lining up at 5 a.m. to register for the church's third annual free garage sale. Registration continued until the worship service began at 10:30 a.m. When the tallies were completed, 557 families comprised of 1,948 people had received coupons for free food, clothing, furniture, appliances, toys and many other items.
CHURCH MEMBERS and guests gather under a huge tent for a morning service.
___The purpose of the event is to give away more than the shoppers can carry away in their arms and to reach even deeper into their hearts.
___"Our purpose is to carry out the Great Commission," said Minister of Education Wes Hill. "There are a lot of lower-income families that live in close proximity to the church, and this is just a way for us to show that we care about them."
___Church members gathered under a tent at 9:30 a.m. for evangelism training with Interim Pastor Bill Pinson in preparation for the many people they would meet and minister to throughout the day.
___At 10:30, church members and guests joined together under tents for worship. Worship leaders included musicians and Pastor Dimas Rodas from Jordan Mision Bautista Hispana and Pastor Herb Spady of South Longview Bible Fellowship, an African-American congregation.
___Julee Rachels, interim activities director, said the two other congregations were asked to assist with follow-up.
___In addition to the worship tents, seven other tents dotted the grounds of the church--a furniture tent, two tents of miscellaneous items, a medical tent and separate tents for women's clothing, men's clothing, and children's clothing and toys.
___At the furniture tent, each family was interviewed to discover their particular needs, and then the guests were allowed to choose from all available items in that category.. For example, the first people in need of a sofa had more than 30 to choose from.
___Also included in the furniture tent were washers and dryers, refrigerators, recliners, chairs, lawn mowers, televisions, microwaves, headboards, mattresses and dressers.
___Each family was limited to one furniture item. Even though some of those items were large, transportation was no problem. Dozens of church members had lined up their pickups and stood ready to transport the items to their destinations.
CHURCH MEMBERS help in distribution of thousands of free items, including furniture, clothing, households items and medical services.
___Shoppers were allowed to roam freely through the rest of the tents. Each family could choose 16 items from the miscellaneous tent and five clothing items for each person.
___A long line also formed at the medical and dental tent. Some people were treated on the spot while others made appointments to visit a dentist's office for more complicated procedures. All treatment was given without charge.
___Each family also was given a bag of groceries and another bag with information about all three of the participating churches.
___More than 300 volunteers prepared 1,900 hot dogs and soft drinks and distributed 508 bags of canned food, 200 pieces of furniture, appliances and bicycles, more than 15,000 pieces of clothing and countless miscellaneous items. Also, more than 750 English and Spanish Bibles, gospel tracts, bookmarks and other ministry items were given away.
___The event was held the day before Vacation Bible School began, so many of the children came for VBS.
___The impact of the ministry was demonstrated vividly at the dental tent.
___A women called the church, explaining that a friend told her about the free dental services. She could not believe it was free.
___Rachels reassured her there would be no charge, but the woman still could not believe what she was hearing. So Rachels promised the woman she would personally take her to a dentist. When the pair met the dentist, he made an appointment for the woman to come to his office without charge to begin the process of getting a set of dentures.
___"She started to cry," Rachels said. "I started to cry. The dentist started to cry. She finally stopped crying long enough to say, 'I just need a smile. I want to get a job, but no one will hire me because I don't have a smile,'
___"It's unbelievable how big an impact that moment may have on that woman's life," Rachels said..
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