"Christmas on Wheels"

What can I say? In all my years of ministry I've never been as excited about a 'church service' as I am right now. We determined that just like Jesus caused a ruckus at His arrival that we would too. No candle lighting in this one. Less than six weeks ago we were in a staff meeting that turned into a brainstorming time and voíla, we agreed a bike giveaway was a good idea for Christmas at Southgate. Initially we figured we could pull off giving away 25-30 bikes on short notice but that soon ramped up to 100. You know how brainstorming meetings go; you lose all sense of reason. So we began to execute a plan that would have us teaming up again with five of our local partners: Heroes Camp, Five Star Life (Jackson Middle School), Xavier School, Sonnyvilla & The Crossing Educational Center. We would also ask Southgate people to 'nominate' kids they thought could use a big Christmas surprise. We also figured every kid should walk away with something, so we purchased hundreds of sleds so that every kid received a gift. So, tonight & tomorrow we gather to worship Jesus and open gifts... and witness some kids being surprised by the generosity of people who love them enough to buy 100 bikes (& 700 sleds), lovingly put them together and open their arms to these precious kids on Christmas weekend. This moves me!

Merry Christmas!