For the third year, area churches will be offering holiday assistance through the Russellville Christmas Mission.
The event is a joint effort by Calvary Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Russellville, First United Methodist Church of Russellville and Tharptown Baptist Church, but organizers say that it’s not just the churches that participate.
“Even though these four churches serve as a spearhead for the Russellville Christmas Mission, it is a community event,” FUMC Pastor Alan Beasley said. “There are several local businesses and individuals that participate that aren’t part of one of these churches.”
This year’s event will take place at First Baptist Church on Jackson Avenue in Russellville on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 11 a.m.
A meal will be served and gifts will be distributed to children age 12 and under.
To participate in the event, a meal ticket must be picked up from FBC and a registration form must be filled out. Organizers said the registration forms ask for how many people over the age of 12 will be eating a meal and how many children 12 and under will be there to receive gifts.
“The tickets serve as a way for us to get a headcount of the people who will be eating and also of how many children will be getting gifts,” Beasley said. “There is no screening process. This event is an unconditional gift of the love of Christ to the community.”
Members of Christian Students United, Franklin County Junior Leadership and youth group members will serve as volunteers at the event.
“Even though adults will still be present, we’re giving the youth the opportunity to step up and take charge of this event as a learning tool,” Beasley said. “This is a great opportunity for them to learn about leadership and helping other people.”
The Russellville Christmas Mission first began in 2008 after the Faith Mission Outreach in downtown Russellville had to close its doors.
Beasley and FBC Youth Minister Richard Parker got together before the holidays and talked about doing an event that was similar to what the Faith Mission did during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We knew that there was a void that needed to be filled once the Faith Mission closed because their organization helped a lot of people in the community during the holidays,” Beasley said. “What Richard and I decided to do was set up a program that would be modeled exactly after what the Faith Mission Outreach did and get some of the bigger churches in the area to participate. Calvary came on board and Tharptown helped financially that first year. Since last year, all four of the churches have fully participated.”
About 400 people were served each year the Russellville Christmas Mission was previously held, and Beasley said they were expecting similar numbers this year.
To purchase the gifts that will be distributed to the children at the event, the Russellville Christmas Mission utilizes a spin, first started by Faith Mission Outreach, on the Salvation Army’s “Angel Tree”program.
Instead of angels, “doves” can be picked up at FUMC. The “doves” will have a child’s gender and an age range on them that will indicate the type of gift that will need to be purchased.
A $20.00 to $25.00 gift will need to be purchased for each “dove”and age ranges will be from 0-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 for both males and females.
Each child age 12 and under at he event will receive a gift bag with several of these gifts.
Organizers said the event has been a success in the past and has been a way to show compassion to the community during the holidays.
“By having this event, kids who are less fortunate are able to receive gifts at Christmas, which makes the event a success,” Calvary Associate Pastor Neil Rogers said. “But even more importantly, this is a way for us to love the people in the community like Jesus loves us and to just show the love of Christ.”
“The Russellville Christmas Mission is an opportunity for us to also present the Gospel,” Parker added. “Everyone who comes will receive a tract about the birth of Christ.”
The event costs anywhere from $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 to put on so organizers said that donations are also welcomed.
For information about tickets or to make a donation to the Russellville Christmas Mission, contact First Baptist Church at 256-332-2065. For information about the “doves,”contact First United Methodist Church at 256-332-2955.
