Missionary Task Force Feeding Homeless

at Metropolitan CME in Birmingham, AL

At Metropolitan CME Church in Birmingham, Alabama, Pastor Rev. Jacob G. Colbert, Jr. has organized a "Task Force," within the Missionary Society to expedite ministries that serve the community. When Pastor Colbert suggested that the church start a "Feeding Program," there were many negative stories and issues about the church's attempt to feed the homeless in the past. Among them were, "How are we going to pay for the food?" "What church auxiliaries will be responsible to feed and when?" "The last time, they broke into the church and stole all of the leftover food." Pastor Colbert's testimony is that he continued to pray for direction, and in a dream he saw himself and some younger men handing out lunches. So that next Sunday morning, he said that the Lord led him to three young men who had not been too active in the church in the past. They ware Reggie Stevenson (counsels drug addicts), Jerome Parks (drives big-rig trucks), and Larry Bishop (grew up attending Metropolitan CME, left, and recently returned). All three gentlemen are the age of Young Adult Fellowship and are active on Hospitality Committe at the church.

Pastor Colbert organized the men as a Task Force under the umbrella of the Missionary Society. The Missionary Society's president, Sis. Gearldene Odem, agreed with the idea. Over the past four months the Pastor's Missionary Task Force has fed 200 homeless and otherwise hungry people each month. To get around all of the negative issues, they have arranged for volunteers to make 100 sandwiches and pack 100 lunches, including a sandwich, two cookies, a bag of chips and a bottle of water. The volunteers prepare brown bag lunches every other Wednesday after Bible Study. The Task Force then meets at the church, loads the lunches into their vehicles, following prayer. Then they go into the local community areas that are known to have homeless perpsons sleeping in abandoned houses and cars. On one particular night, a homeless woman asked Pastor Colbert for adollar to buy a "tampon." When Pastor Colbert informed Sis. Odem, she immediately directed the Missionary Society to prepare special bags containing items of need for females.

The Task Force goes out twice a month, and even foul weather, low temperatures, rain or snow, has not stopped the Pastor's Missionary Task Force from serving the needy. Photo shows Pastor Jacob Colbert (center) and the Missionary Task Force.