Agape...a program of care sharing!

Need a helping hand with planning and executing a wedding or baby shower? Do you know a family that needs assistance in coping with the funeral of a loved one? Are you or one of your family members hospital bound and at wit's end on how to manage for a few days after you are released? Then you have found the help page you are looking for.

Under the leadership of Jeff Justice, a deacon in charge of our AGAPE Ministry, we as a congregation collectively reach out to our members who need assistance with the needs mentioned above. During a typical year this ministry group will prepare and deliver countless meals to families needing help (for example, providing temporary assistance to new mothers or other members recovering from illness). They will plan, organize and execute numerous social showers to celebrate births and weddings. When the tragedy of death strikes one of our families, they are there to comfort and ease the pain of dealing with the demands of the moment.

Putting a human face on God's love is the driving force of this group. If you would like to take an active role in the process, we encourage you to do so. Just step up the next time you hear a need announced. Your efforts will make a difference in the lives of many members and will make your day a better one.

Agape is a word that finds its origin in the Greek language. The word agape is found 116 times in the New Testament.

Unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another. In 1 Cor 13:1, Paul described “love” as a “more excellent way” than tongues or even preaching. The New Testament maintains this estimation of love throughout. The King James Version uses the word charity instead of “love” to translate the Greek word Paul used (agape). The word charity comes from the Latin caritas which means “dearness,” “affection,” or “high regard.” Today, the word charity is normally used for acts of benevolence, and so the word love is to be preferred as a translation of agape. Nevertheless, the reader who comes to the agape of the New Testament with the idea of benevolence in mind is better off than the reader who comes with the idea of physical pleasure and satisfaction. Holman Bible Dictionary

1Jo 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1Jo 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1Jo 4:9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

1Jo 4:11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

1Jo 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.