Still Thinking on Stop Hunger Now

I am just thrilled about this past weekend and the impact our church made for children in the world! Working with the Stop Hunger Now organization, we packaged 31,320 meals that will be distributed to areas around the world decimated by poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Isn’t it amazing what can happen when a group comes together to accomplish a task?

As I helped Ryan, the representative from Stop Hunger Now, load the truck, I already started thinking to our next event. What will be our goal? How much money will we need to raise? How many volunteers will it take to accomplish the task? I pondered these questions while…get this…I was on my way to eat lunch at Fabiano’s Pizza in Newnan. The irony was not lost on me and all I could do was chuckle. While children long for the 25-cent meals, I was off to spend quite a bit more on pizza, salad, hot wings, and soft drinks. So much of Stop Hunger Now’s mission is to raise awareness that malnutrition is a dilemma that can be solved in our lifetime! I think, at least for me, awareness was raised.

While we might struggle in our society to grasp the scope of the dilemma of poverty in the world, we truly are blessed beyond measure. Stop Hunger Now reports that currently in the world today, there is enough food to feed each man, woman, and child four-and-one-half pounds a day. Think about that. So in essence, the problem with malnutrition isn’t a supply problem as much as it is an awareness and distribution problem.

There might be enough food in the world to feed every person right now, but we cannot solve the problem of world hunger all on our own. Regardless of desire, we just can’t. What we can do, however, is remember that we do have the power to make a difference in the lives of people, and that is precisely what we should do! The sheer enormity of the task does not absolve us from doing something. It reminds me of the story of the little boy tossing starfish back into the sea that had washed up on the shore. When an older man asked the boy why he was so determined because he possibly couldn’t make a difference for all the starfish, the boy remained resolute, “I can make a difference for this one.”

Our task is very much the same. Though Cokes Chapel alone cannot solve the crisis of world hunger, we can do our part to help make a difference for the people that we can. There is a great quote that says, “Sometimes the things we can't change end up changing us instead. (Unknown)”. As we fulfill the call to make a difference for those we can, we undoubtedly will come to grips with the enormity of the task. We cannot allow this to deter us, however, because the things we can do will make a difference. And this, my friends – just as I hoped you experienced after this Stop Hunger Now campaign – can change you!

Church family, please know how proud I am to be serving among and with you. This church is making a major difference in our community, our region, and our world. There might be times when we feel like we could or should do more, and that is good. My prayer is that we remain committed to the task of making new and better followers of Jesus Christ to change the world and never allow ourselves to be discouraged or deterred by the massiveness of the task. This is what it means to “Boldly Go!” into the world with, in, and for the love of God! It can change the world, beginning with you!