I was posed a question as of late asking how Ekron Baptist cares for Meade County.  This is a serious question that all churches need to answer.  To often churches do become isolated within the walls of the building.  To me, church is a verb.

First off, a church is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  A church is to love one another, even their enemies.  Without exception, everything a church does should be based within Scripture as we are commanded by God to share the gospel message, locally and globally.

With those parameters in place, churches ought to have some form of local ministry to the community.

At Ekron Baptist we annually provide backpacks and school supplies for needy children.  We provide food that day as well as entertainment that is all free of charge.  Every year on October 31^st we provide a safe environment for families to trick or treat along with another meal.

Weekly our church has helped people in need by supplying groceries from our food pantry.  We also have assisted countless people in those dire times when the utilities have run high and a payment needs to be made.  We also offer free counseling from a certified counselor and others in training.  Often, our church sponsors kids we have met on the spur of the moment, who wish to go to camp with our youth. This is quite costly.  Several of these youths go on to serve in the community, they have been found helping the elderly with needs they physically cannot meet. All this is done in a spirit of love and free of charge.

Throughout the year, we collect supplies for shoeboxes to give to the needy in Meade county.  We also are a stop on the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club toy run.  We provide lunch to the participants as well as toys toward the efforts, all of which stay in our county. Our ongoing sewing and craft ministry creates blankets, dresses and other items for the elderly as well as creating packages for those children who are rushed into foster care in sad situations. These packages often have items that will comfort a child in crisis. Statistically, our county sees a 16.9% poverty level.  This is severe.  We do what we can and wish we could do more.

So why do we do this? Why so much without requiring an obligation from others?  It’s not because we are good neighbors.  Rather the answer finds its roots in the fact that as God so loved the world, He gave His only Son to meet the greatest poverty of all mankind.  Poverty will always be with us. But the greater need, the greatest poverty, is to be found in debt to a holy God because of our sins against Him. The greatest gift is to have the debt of sin paid for, that the wrath of God would be atoned for, that in turn, we could be forgiven of all our sins. This is the gospel message.

We love our neighbors.  And we serve in the community, not because we are good people, as a matter of fact, we are a bunch of sinners who daily rely upon the grace of God, but serve out of what God has done in our hearts.  Because we have experienced our sin being dealt with by the cross of Christ and have learned through the Bible about a right relationship with God, we want to share how all who repent and call upon His name can be forgiven their debt and given a new life.

The mission of Ekron Baptist Church is to love God, love others, and to make His glory known.

We invite you all to attend and hear the good news for yourself.