Clothing Ourselves as We Clothe Others
Lumber City Church
Lumber City Church takes serving people in the North Tonawanda School District seriously. The work they do in partnership with the School District through the Box of Hope Outreach has led to repeated connections that are leading to deeper relationships. Those deeper relationships are leading to a clearer picture of the real needs of families that struggle the most.
Chad Rieselman, Lead Pastor of Lumber City Church, said, “The closer we got to these families, the more it became clear to us that they struggled with access to good clothing and shoes. You’re on your own when it comes to clothing. There are few programs other than thrift, and thrift doesn’t cover everything these families need. That led us to create The Lumber City Outfitters Clothing Sale.”
The Lumber City Outfitters Clothing Sale is an outreach hosted by Lumber City Church at their community center in The Hope Center at North Tonawanda. It is a boutique shopping experience that is organized twice a year. Families with the highest level of need are registered. The Church then procures a selection of brand new clothing for each member of the family. The families then come and shop with the help of a team that welcomes them as family.
One of the shoppers, Kim, was tense the first time she came. “The anxiety melted as soon as I walked down the stairs. And there were other people just like me there and there were other kids, and people were offering to help me look for things. It was just the nicest environment ever. And there was no judgment. And that’s the most important thing because being lower income you get judged sometimes even when you don’t expect to. And it’s comforting not to.”
Kim was able to purchase new dresses that she then used for job interviews. She also remarked about how hard it is to find new items for herself. “I was able to get some things for my kids, but to get new things for myself was more than I expected,” Kim said.
“We’re called to make disciples,” said Pastor Chad. “All of the clothes we fill our racks with come from the generosity of the people that call Lumber City Church home. We’re building a culture of discipleship here that makes an impact in our city. Not only are our people making a sacrifice to get the stuff these families need, but they’re also truly welcoming them and making friends with them. That makes them friends of Jesus. That leads to them becoming family as they become followers of Jesus.”
Colossians 3:12 tells us "…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”. God is providing His family at Lumber City Church with these supernatural clothes as they clothe the people He's called them to serve.
Lumber City Church is making disciples in North Tonawanda that give Jesus everything they are as they become willing to share everything they have with Him and with everyone they encounter everywhere they go every day with every breath God gives.
