An evangelical megachurch in Florida has prepared hundreds of thousands of meals that will be sent to refugees displaced by ISIS and the ongoing civil war in Syria.
Members of the Christ Fellowship in southeast Florida made the meals in just two days, during the megachurch’s third annual “Make-a-Meal” weekend on March 18 and 19. An estimated 12,500 people at all eight of its campuses helped prepare the meals, which will go to refugees in the Middle East, particularly those from Syria and Iraq, as well as to impoverished families in Florida.
ISIS, which grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq, became a major force in the Iraq’s sectarian insurgency after the United States invaded the country in 2003. The jihadist group spread across the border and took root in Syria as the country plunged into civil war six years ago, and the conflict there has created the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II.
The Christ Fellowship’s associate director of missions, Philip McCracken told The Christian Post in an interview Monday that more than 489,000 meals were prepared during the weekend event. About 300,000 of those meals will be distributed by aid group World Help to refugee camps in the Middle East. The rest will be distributed to needy families at local food banks and ministries throughout southern Florida.
“I think it is in it’s simplest way an example of how we are able to live out our mission, which is to love others and help others the way Jesus did,” McCracken told The Christian Post. “There are times providing food to people in need is a way to do that and a tool to minister to those in need. It is just a good way for us to live out our mission to share the Gospel.”
The food that was prepared for refugees was a rice product that included dehydrated vegetables, sugar and vitamins. The meals that were prepared for Floridians was an oatmeal product that included cinnamon, sugar and vitamins.
McCracken told The Christian Post that local farmers who attend the church donated “thousands and thousands of pounds” of rice and sugar for this year’s “Make-a-Meal” event.
“They are just individuals who go to our church and feel called to help out in the areas that they have been blessed with and the areas where they have resources,” he told the newspaper.
This year’s event marked the third time that Christ Fellowship has held its “Make-a-Meal” weekend. It’s the first time the church prepared food for people in their local communities.
In previous years, Christ Fellowship made meals for people in need in Niger and Haiti, McCracken told The Christian Post.
(H/T/ The Christian Post)
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