WIN.WIN.WIN.

You may be familiar with the idea of a “Win-Win” situation. The basic idea is to find a way forward in a negotiation where you win and the person you are dialing with wins. It is not to be seen as a way to compromise and both sides lose a little. It is a way to work on a solution resulting in both sides winning.

With that in mind let’s add another win. I like to aim for a Win-Win-Win result. That means you win now, I win now and we both win later. It is a beautiful thing if that can happen. Pastor Scott introduced our church family to a mission opportunity that is a Kingdom Win-Win-Win. James Island Baptist Church is partnering to help James Island Outreach meet the largest demand they have ever had in feeding the under-served in our community. So here is the first win: we have a partnership with James Island Outreach that helps provide food and other services for the most vulnerable part of our community. They are currently providing more groceries than ever before in their mission. That is a WIN in my book. The second win is the incredible generous hearts of our church family. We have been known as the jelly church. James Island Outreach assigned us with the task of supplying them with jelly. I think in 2020 we gave 4,000 pounds of jelly and other groceries. That is literally two tons of food! WIN! Now, here is the third win. We are providing 1,000 bags to be filled with groceries by November 1. The goal and idea is that you and I will take these bags to our neighbors and invite them to join in the effort to make the largest offering ever to meet the largest need ever. If we are successful in involving our neighbors, not just our own church members, than that will make it a WIN-WIN-WIN for the Kingdom of God. Instead of just our 100 church families we could possible involve over 1,000 families from our community. Many will have heard of James Island Outreach for the very first time. Some may become regular contributors to James Island Outreach or may even be moved to volunteer.

So, if we, by God’s grace and blessings, could fill all 1,000 bags, and each bag holds 25 pounds of groceries, that would be 25,000 pounds of groceries! Is it possible that James Island Baptist, in the middle of a pandemic, with about half of our regular attendance, could, by God’s grace, collect 10 ½ tons of groceries? ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. It would indeed be a WIN-WIN-WIN for those in need, for the Kingdom of God and for James Island Outreach. You could be part of a record breaking effort to answer Jesus’ call: I was hungry and you fed me. Janie and I took 10 bags for our neighborhood. Amen and Hallelujah!

Pastor Tom