Ministries at Thanksgiving and Christmas

The Thanksgiving and Christmas season are a time in the life of our church each year when the people of First Baptist Church of Matawan express their thanks to God and love for others in wonderful tangible ways.

Each year at our Thanksgiving Eve Service we receive a canned and dry goods offering. The food stuffs given by our folks are divided between our small In-House Food Pantry and the Keyport Ministerium Food Pantry in a neighboring town. People that we do not know (some that we do) and may never know in this earthly life enjoy good food given by our people from the blessings given to them by God.

Our Christmas outreach to those who may be less fortunate includes Christmas gift cards from various well known store chains which are voluntarily given by our church folk and then forwarded in time for Christmas to a ministry in Weirton WV, the Weirton Christian Center, where children and families from that community are ministered to in the name of Christ.

Locally the folks of our church act like grandparents, and aunts and uncles to children in a day care center on the shore. The purchase and delightfully wrap individual gifts for this children from lower income homes, and then a group from the church (featuring a guy from the North Pole in a red suit) go down and provided a Christmas gifting party for the children who range in ages from 1-5. This year the people of First Baptist gave 148 gifts in this ministry.

On Christmas Eve at our two worship Services (7:30 & 11:30 pm) we will receive our annual Christmas Present for Jesus Offering. This offering is given away to other ministries as a present from our congregation to the Lord Jesus Christ at the celebration of His earthly birthday. This year’s offering will be given to Child Evangelism Fellowship and Murrow Indian Children’s Home in Muskogee, OK.

These gifts of thanksgiving given at this season of the year remind us that the greatest gift ever given was given by the Lord God, Himself.” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, the whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV).