Help Beat Hunger
Lee YanceyIf you are looking for a way to make a difference in the fight against World Hunger, consider having a BEAT Hunger retreat at your church. BEAT Hunger is about Believers Everywhere Attacking Hunger in their communities and in the world. It’s about your group of believers entering into active warfare against the evil of world hunger. It’s about getting off the sidelines and making a difference in the high-stakes game of life or death. It’s about growing a passion for compassion – a compassion that is born out of a love for God, not pity.
Those who participate in a BEAT Hunger event will experience hunger over an extended time period (most will do a 24-hour period of fasting and prayer). Participants will also be involved in a service project such as delivering food to needy families or a homeless shelter. They will experience firsthand what Jesus did when He encountered the needy.
During the event, they will produce a banquet for friends and church members that helps drive home the plight of the poor in a world of plenty. Through pledges they will raise money for the World Hunger Fund and have a blast with friends in group games and other activities.
Inside the BEAT Hunger kit are the following:
- BEAT Hunger Video: This 20-minute video takes a light and humorous view of prevalent attitudes about hunger while challenging your group to understand why they should get involved in the hunger ministry. It will set the tone for your group to get them excited, motivated, and committed to your event.
- BEAT Hunger Poster: The 17” by 24” BEAT Hunger posters will drive home the message of your event in living color Includes blank slot to customize your program.
- Receipt Books – Each participant in the BEAT Hunger event will need a sponsorship receipt book. Ten receipt books are included with the kit.
- Reproducible Pages – Don’t forget the reproducible resources found in this manual. They are key to helping create exposure and ensuring your event runs smoothly.
Mike McCrary, a lay leader at First Baptist Church, Kennesaw, Ga., said, “I just reviewed the new kit and it is great Last year, the kit was a great help in getting us started and giving us material to focus on. The video helped everyone to get pumped up about the project. Our goal was $2,000 and we raised over $2,300! Plus, we had over 60 kids participate in tasting and mission work.”
At the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in Nashville, Steve Nelson is responsible for overseeing the BEAT Hunger program. According to Nelson, “there have already been more than 2,000 retreats held. Once believers learn the principle of gleaning from Leviticus 19:9-10, they realize they have a calling to share their blessings. For instance, a mere 12 cents provides a meal for a child in Uganda.”
To order your BEAT Hunger kit call (615) 244-2495 or
(800) 475-9127. You may fax your order to (615) 242-0085.
Orders are also accepted via e-mail at .
BEAT Hunger kits can also be purchased at LifeWay
Christian Stores. For more information, check out these sites: HYPERLINK “http://www.erlc.com” http://www.erlc.com and HYPERLINK “http://www.beathunger.com” http://www.beathunger.com.
Money that is raised from the BEAT Hunger event goes directly tq the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund (SBWHF). Only the SBWHF uses 100% of all contributions to feed hungry people. (Personnel are already in place; thus, administrative and promotional costs are borne out of other budgets.)
When Southern Baptists give food, they are there for the long haul, desiring to plant churches and make disciples for Jesus Christ. The goal is to build relationships with people and eventually lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Good News of salvation through Christ is always foundational. Whenever possible, the plan of salvation is shared and an opportunity to respond is given. In emergency situations, food aid must be given. But when possible, hunger ministries are designed to create independence from, rather than dependence on, food aid.
When a dollar is given to the SBWHF, unless otherwise designated, 80 cents is sent to the International Mission Board for overseas hunger projects while 20 cents is sent to the North American Mission Board to support hunger projects in the United States and Canada.
Internationally, the SBWHF and relief funds are being used to:
Provide for the shipping of donated medical equipment that will be used to refurnish an eye hospital in West Africa.
Provide rice, beans, milk, and oil for 1,000 families affected by Hurricane Michelle in Cuba.
Provide medical supplies for treating 2,500 people who are fighting various infections in Bolivia.
Provide training in soil erosion control, vegetable gardening, seeds, and livestock production to farmers in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Provide a bathhouse for 4,000 residents in Berkovitsa, Bulgaria.
Provide training in primary healthcare, gardening, and the care of small animals and fowl for 100 women enabling them to become primary change agents for their villages in Central and Southern Asia.
Provide mosquito nets, beds, plastic sheeting, and axes for four camps housing 2,000 families freed from bonded labor in Central and Southern Asia.
Provide four water wells benefiting 300,000 people in West Africa.
Provide maize, beans, and cooking oil for 9,000 people affected by drought conditions in Kenya.
Provide health care training for 500 people, vocational training for 1,115 people, and a nutritional program benefiting 1,000 families in Colombia.
Provide gardening skills for 2,000 families in Uruguay.
Provide 10 literacy training centers teaching literacy, basic food production, and simple health and nutrition skills to 150 students in Mindanao, Philippines.
As Christians it is our simple duty, as Jesus made clear, to serve those in need. Southern Baptists have a marvelously efficient vehicle for providing relief to them – the World Hunger Fund in partnership with the thousands of missionaries and volunteers already on the field ready to serve the hungry and hurting. Not everyone can go as missionaries and volunteers to serve the indigent and hungry around the world, but all of us can contribute to their efforts by praying and giving to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund.
Taken from: Salt & Light – A NEWSLETTER OF THE MISSISSIPPI BAPTIST CHRISTIAN ACTION COMMISSION
September/October 2003 Issue, VOL. 16, NO. 5