God’s Haven
Our chapel theme for this school year is “Grace and Glory.” We are excited to use this opportunity to look at familiar pictures and stories from the Old and New Testament to show how they point us to the work and heart of Christ Jesus.
As we gather to sing God’s praises and come before Him in prayer, we also want to recognize another integral part of our worship - service to others and offerings. This nine weeks, we are partnering with our friends at God’s Haven, a ministry serving children and their families in South and West Jackson.
God’s Haven was formed in 2007 by Bridgett Macklin after she was led in her prayer time to “feed the hungry.” The organization’s mission is to proclaim and demonstrate the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ by meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of men, women, and children who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless. Since its beginning, Bridgett and God’s Haven volunteers have seen many success stories - by God’s grace alone - including families placed in permanent housing and employment; students graduating high school and college; men and women who once worked the streets now ministering to their communities, and more.
FPDS adopted several of these children by providing Christmas gifts, thanks to the generosity of our families and organized by our room moms. We want to encourage FPDS students and families to give towards this ministry during chapel, so we can go into our community this Christmas and serve as an outward extension of the church. Each adopted child received an age-appropriate Bible as one of their gifts. And we have committed as a school to provide 300 sack lunches for God’s Haven children one day during the Christmas break. Our 6th grade students will begin the packing process, and our faculty and staff (along with their children) will meet over the holidays to complete the lunches and deliver them with Bridgett.
We invite you to join us for chapel any time throughout the school year. Be on the lookout for information about our mission partnerships for the third and fourth nine weeks of school. May God bless you this Christmas season!