Dear Friends of First Coast,
Did you know that April is Volunteer Appreciation month? With over 300 volunteers serving our four counties, we sure do have a lot to be thankful for at First Coast Women’s Services! With so many active volunteers, you might be surprised to know that we still need volunteers who can commit to serving once a week for a 3-hour shift.
As you can imagine, our clients are best served when they can see the same advocate every week. This way, the mentor they are placed with can build a deep and trusting relationship with them, providing true discipleship and support.
Not only that, but the more volunteers we have, the more hours we can be open to be a present source of strength and support to our clients. When you think about the world we live in, it is a gift to be able to be open and fully present to our clients when they face times of crisis.
They get to see young adults at crisis points in their lives and have the unique ability to provide counsel when our clients are at a crossroads. Many of the clients we see tell us they are Christians but would not want to step foot in a church again.We get to meet them and minister to them. That is our mission. Our volunteers are positioned to be salt and light to our clients who live in a world that is in desperate need of guidance and in desperate need of Christ
What a joy it is for our mission field to be in our own back yard.
What a joy it is to be present, a shoulder to cry on.
What a joy it is to be a rock, a place of security when life feels all but secure.
What a joy it is to be a comfort, providing counsel, guidance, and a listening ear.
As I have prayed for more volunteers, I often pray a passage from Matthew, but it stood out to me differently than it had before.
I’d like to share it with you from The Message:
“‘What a huge harvest!’ He said to his disciples. ‘How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands.’ The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe field. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. This is the list of the twelve he sent…
Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously” (Matthew 9:37–38; 10:5–14).
As a volunteer for FCWS, we get to reach out to those in our neighborhoods and care for their bruised and hurt lives. Consider these words from Isaiah 6:8:
“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?
I spoke up,
I’ll go.
Send me.”
Will you prayerfully consider saying ‘send me’ and say yes to volunteering regularly?
If you can’t volunteer, will you consider giving to support the work?
We have the lost and the broken, right here in our neighborhoods
 | Grace and peace, Jennifer R. Pace Chief Executive Officer  | ||||
