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CareFest 2012...refreshing our community for seven years
By Larry Orth, CareFest Coordinator
Many Christians see special significance in the number seven, from the seven days in Genesis completing the creation-rest/work-Sabbath cycle to the seven last plagues in Revelation completing God's judgment in preparation for making all things new. Seven is also significant for CareFest this year!
After a year of prayer, the multi church, one-day event was born in 2006 when 1650 Christians from 25 area churches served at 60 project sites, doing work like washing windows, pouring concrete, picking up trash, or clearing buckthorn. The annual mission was designed to call the church outside her walls to show people Jesus' love in real ways. Through CareFest, the Lord's love has changed the face of our community and has touched lives in ways we never imagined. Do you recall the reaction of the Boys & Girls Club staff and children when 325 servants delivered a total makeover to their dingy facility in 2006?
The Holy Spirit's sweet superintendence has been obvious each year as He has orchestrated the exact people and resources to meet the needs of each recipient we served. Were you a member of our paint platoons that covered 122 rooms, several hallways, and three gyms in 2007? Or, a team member of the mega-crew of 200+ that landscaped, scraped, and painted the grandstands and buildings at the Graham Park fairgrounds in 2008?
Were you one who helped fill the Haiti disaster relief bus with over a ton of provisions in 2010? Are you one of those faithful "servant-saints" that the schools love most—those who clean furniture and lockers? 2011 was a banner year as we expanded CareFest to a two-day regional event to meet the needs of the Zumbro Valley in flood recovery work that approaches a million dollars in retail value and continues even to the present. Our work ranged from debris removal to complete home rebuilds.
Our frequent recipients include Rochester schools and parks, Salvation Army, Seasons Hospice, Women's Shelter, Boys &Girls Club, Crossroads College, and Graham Park. The 60-100+ project sites each year also include a number of homeless shelters and low income private residences. In every case, the relatively small time investment on our part makes an exponential impact on the hearts of those we serve. One elderly couple told us, I can't believe that you would do this for people you don't know!
The work of CareFest provides every team member, from ages 8 to 80+, something to do no matter your skills, interests, or physical limitations. I love meeting and working with people from various churches! is the most frequently reported comment surrounding CareFest. Volunteers report to their assigned worksite at 8:30 AM for instructions and prayer, work until 4:30 PM, and for many, the highlight is the BBQ and worship celebration from 5-6 PM.
God told His ancient people who were transplanted to Babylon, Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare (Jeremiah 29:5). Our heavenly citizenship should make an earthly difference; our city should be a better place to live because Christians are here.
On Saturday, June 16, we will serve our community for the seventh year through our CareFest mission. Busy that day? Ask us about pre- and post-event projects. Join us today!
CareFest is planning a Sabbath in 2013! This rest will give a much needed break to our leaders and faithful servants who have poured thousands of hours into event planning and work, including days and months of pre- and post-work. Let's finish this seventh year strong!
CareFest 2011 Photo Album
CareFest 2011 Recap
CareFest 2011...becoming His masterpiece!
By Larry Orth, CareFest Coordinator
On a brisk February Sunday evening, a group of Zumbro Valley community leaders and residents gathered to brainstorm possible solutions to jumpstart their rebuilding process. Five months earlier, the flood of the century had devastated their community; government resources were scarce and buyouts were uncertain. The sea of volunteers that had come to their immediate aid had all but dried up and hope had faded. Many families had lost everything and dozens remained homeless.
That evening, the Lord began to move among His people. CareFest leaders sensed God’s call to get involved and, within a month, a two-phased event was planned. According to Lutheran Social Services relief coordinator Craig Richardt, new life was injected into the whole relief process. “Before CareFest showed up, volunteer and financial support had really diminished. I could feel the urgency that if something didn’t happen soon, the relief efforts would die and there was a lot left to do [$1.3 million].” He continued, “CareFest was the ‘shot in the arm’ that was needed to bring renewed awareness of the ongoing needs of the flooded region. CareFest brought a new level of credibility and trust to encourage other organizations to rally alongside the relief efforts. For example, United Way, Rochester Builders, and Salvation Army released designated flood recovery funds to us because they knew the money would be leveraged to do the most good for the victims. Immediately we started to build momentum and strength for a long term recovery process.”
Prayer Requests
- Pray that God will reveal the specific projects He wants us to do in our community for His greatest glory.
- Pray that God will raise up the specific leaders and skills we need to accomplish the projects.
- Pray that God will help leaders define each project’s human, equipment, and supply needs; for good communication and good relationships between project leaders and ministry recipients.
- Pray that God's people will respond to the call to serve in faith and perseverance, that God will guide the process of matching workers with projects, and that God will meet all our needs.
- Pray that God will guide our leaders in their planning, site preparation, resource allocation, and carrying out excellent work at each site.
- Pray that all the final details will culminate in the best possible CareFest. Pray for good weather, safety, and for Holy Spirit superintendence of each project to the glory of Jesus.
- Pray that many will come to know the Lord as Savior through CareFest as they experience His saving and restoring hope.