As a member of the Home Missions Team, I was looking forward to learning more about Star Gospel Mission and having an opportunity to personally reach out to those in need at Christmas.  

Star Gospel Mission is Charleston’s oldest independent Christian charity. Its mission is to transform lives through Jesus Christ by compassionately providing resources for people experiencing hardships. I read in the inSPIRE that Star Gospel Mission needed volunteers to help distribute their Good Cheer gift cards to those in need. I clicked on the link and had the option of either being a greeter or an interviewer.

On Saturday morning, December 8, I arrived at Star Gospel Mission and was oriented to the interview process, which involved asking a few questions to each gift card recipient and then entering the answers into the computer. The process was easy despite my limited computer skills. My favorite part was having the opportunity to listen with compassion to the needs each person had. I then asked if they would like prayer. Every person to whom I offered prayer accepted eagerly. What a Christmas gift to me to be placed in a situation to connect Christ with someone especially needing His Hope and love at Christmas. I was grateful to learn that in addition to receiving the gift card, each person I interviewed who expressed a particular hardship would later be contacted by a Star Gospel Mission employee to connect them with further resources available. 

Star Gospel Mission is one of the three main local Christian charities financially sponsored by St. Philip’s in 2022. I was pleased to witness firsthand how St. Philip’s donations and volunteer efforts were used by Star Gospel Mission to help those in need in the name of Christ.