Horizon Community Church, a Christian Reformed church located in a suburb of Chicago, recently began feeding its neighbors physically as well as spiritually. The church is now a host site for Angel Food Ministries, a growing nondenominational grocery distribution ministry.
The pastor of this small church, Rev. Jon Hoekema, said the church aims to be a partner with its community to meet the needs of its people.
Roughly one-third of this congregation, adults and children alike, turn out early on Saturday mornings to unload food from a delivery truck, organize the orders, and help distribute boxes of food.
Angel Food Ministries uses its bulk purchasing power to pack affordable medium-sized boxes of high-quality groceries, enough to feed a family of four for a week, and deliver them to host sites around the country. Anyone, regardless of need, can participate in the program.
In its first month of operation, without any local promotion, Horizon Community served 65 families. Cindy Silvey, coordinator of the program for the church, reports that orders have increased each month so far.
That is just the sort of side-by-side community involvement the church is looking for. As member Bev Nicodem said, “It’s an awesome program, and we’re so excited to be a part of it!”
