Calvin was in dire straits. Last month, he received an eviction notice because his family was unable to make ends meet, and they were overdue on their rent payment. Somehow, they had to come up with enough funds to pay before the end of September, or they would be thrown out of their home.
Tiffany from RTTN, a local church, called the CPC Mercy Line. She told me that Calvin and his wife and three kids are very involved in the church and have been faithfully attending it for three years. Tiffany is currently working on getting their church outreach ministry off the ground - helping folks with clothing for now and hoping to expand from there. They do not currently have the funds to help with larger things like rent payment. Tiffany told me that Calvin had never requested assistance before, but had some unforeseen circumstances come up. She took it upon herself to pursue help for them by calling the United Way and many churches in our area. However, most places are very hesitant to help with rent because it is easy to scam churches and charities this way. (It is much safer to directly pay someone's electricity bill than to send a check to an individual who may not be an actual landlord.)
Let me pause this story to tell you about myself and why I know about Calvin. When I joined the diaconate last year, I wasn't sure what all would be involved. The officer training that we went through along with the elders was intense and enlightening. We came away from it with a better understanding of what God desires from us to be servant leaders in the church. We had a month’s long in-depth study of the Westminster Confessions of Faith. We studied other things as well, including the Book of Church Order. The BCO is basically the constitution of the PCA, where we learn about church government, church discipline, and instructions for worship. Pastors Jake (Bennett) and Bill did an excellent job heading up our training.
Once we were installed as officers, we got to do the actual “deaconing.” Most of what the congregation knows of deacons is their passing of the offering plates on a Sunday morning, but there is much more happening behind the scenes. Every deacon is assigned at least one widow to help care for. We also join one of six committees: Mercy, Budget and Finance, Facilities, Singles and Widows, Security, or Worship. We have meetings about every two months where we go over what the individual committees have been doing and discuss other business that always seems to crop up. Our chairman, Mike Mason - who also goes to all the session meetings so that the two branches have a better idea of what each is doing - keeps everything running smoothly.
I am on the Mercy committee. There are six of us on it, headed up by Geff Adams. When a member or non-member has needs that are brought to the committee’s attention, we prayerfully think through what is needed, confer with each other, come up with a financial plan, and then vote on it. Often, people in need just walk into our church during the week requesting help. CPC also has a Mercy Line, which anyone can call. For the last couple of months, I have had the honor of fielding these phone calls. It's often single mothers who need to pay their electric bill before EPB shuts off their service. Other times, people need help with rent, car repair, or all kinds of unforeseen financial burdens. By God's grace, and a supportive, generous congregation, we often have the funds and ability to help people who have no other recourse. For Calvin and his family (from the beginning of this article), we were able to keep them from being evicted.
In Christ,
Eric Mantel, Deacon
Soli Deo Gloria
(If any CPC member has financial or other needs, or knows someone who does, you can call our Mercy Line at 423-521-0002.)
