Thousands volunteered to package meals at the non-denominational Liquid Church. The New Jersey megachurch, with several locations across the state, assembled approximately 1.2 million meals to be sent overseas over the holiday season. Over the weekend, altruists at each of the Liquid Church locations performed a variety of charitable acts as part of the “Christmas Outreach.”
“We simply couldn’t have done this without an army of incredible volunteers. We have seen an incredible response to our annual Christmas Outreach from the church community and our local communities across New Jersey,” said the church’s Communications Manager Brooke Stempert. She also explained how nearly 6,000 volunteers devoted their time to the effort.
Stempert explained how “All seven of our church’s campuses served as meal-packing locations so we could aim to meet our goal of packing over 1 million meals to feed the hungry this Christmas season.“ She added that there was “incredible energy in the room at each of our campuses,” saying volunteers “were excited” to “help make a difference this Christmas season.”
The meals are headed to African Nations such as Zambia. This event was coordinated with the charitable group Rise Against Hunger. This year volunteers at Liquid Church beat their previous year’s effort by over 200,000 meals. The Church plans to expand its philanthropic efforts to provide wells to those in need. According to their website, they’ve already drilled 536 wells in 11 nations.
“With the help of our global partners, Liquid Church supports clean water, sanitation, and hygiene projects in Africa and Central America. … Together, we’ve donated more than $4 million to the Clean Water Cause!” they said in a statement on their webpage. They also stress how they view access to clean water, which is a problem for 711 million people, as one of the Churches” priorities going forward. According to Liquid Church, “diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than wars and terrorism combined.”
“Christmas is a season of giving and generosity, and we hope that the volunteers who served at our Christmas Outreach feel a sense of excitement and pride to be a part of this,” said a spokeswoman for Liquid Church. “Alone, we may not be able to do much; but together, we can accomplish [an] incredible amount. Serving others is what the Christmas season is all about” she added.
The non-denominational giant Liquid Church was founded by Pastor Tim Lucas in 2007. It has exploded from a small group of 20-somethings to one of the fastest-growing churches in the nation. Their website stresses that they welcome everyone to become involved. Their other charitable projects include a ministry for teen mothers, a homeless shelter, and a home for the mentally disabled.
The Liquid Church website states “We believe grace is the great distinctive of the Christian faith. Therefore, we value authenticity, love, and serving others in sacrificial ways. We believe the Bible is God’s roadmap for life. Therefore, we value communicating the timeless truth of Scripture in cutting-edge, culturally relevant ways.” Charity is a way the church strives to serve others.