We started off the Christmas season with a TON of fun!
Santa and Buddy the Elf joined us for our Community meal on November 30th, and it was a blast. Our families had a great time interacting with these two Christmas characters. Enjoy these photos!
A Prayin’ Pumpkins Painting Party was hosted in early October at Lubbock Impact! This event was organized by some of Lubbock Impact’s faithful volunteers as another way to serve the community.
During the event, individuals came together to paint two sets of wooden pumpkins. The painter took the first set home as a reminder to pray for Lubbock Impact’s participants.
The second set of pumpkins was used for table decorations for the Community Meal on Wednesdays. Lubbock Impact seeks to decorate all of the tables where guests will eat to make the environment feel welcoming and special.
Table decorations may not seem like a big deal, but the seasonal decor makes Lubbock Impact’s Dining Hall even more special. Families may not be able to decorate much at home, but when they sit down for a hot meal on Wednesdays, we hope they can enjoy some holiday cheer.
From napkins to table centerpieces, you can give back to the community by purchasing any holiday or seasonal clearance items you may see, so that they may be put to good use at Lubbock Impact.
Games, Candy, Raider Red, oh my!
Lubbock Impact’s Trunk or Treat brought lots of fun and fellowship! A lot of our longtime and familiar participants joined us for a joyful time in our parking lot.
Many from the community, including Texas Tech BYX, Texas Tech University, Amerigroup, Lubbock Unified Church, and the Lubbock Police Department gathered together to have fun with our families. They really made our kiddos feel special!
It was a time when parents could bring their children and know the environment would be family-friendly and God-honoring.
Since a picture is worth more than a thousand words, take a look at these photos to see just how much fun we had!
Volunteers have begun a six-week class to facilitate a Work Life program at Lubbock Impact. This will be an opportunity for participants to discover their God-given purpose in their work life. Each participant will have a mentor who will help them think through past work struggles and see their potential. Then, they will be assisted as they find employment that brings them joy in the workspace they want to thrive in.
This summer we had our first group of six students complete the Faith and Finances 12-week class that is designed for low-income individuals. One couple taking the class evaluated their finances and realized their financial struggles were coming from expensive truck payments and eating out. Both husband and wife worked hard but continued to be in a financial crisis. The Faith and Finances class helped them realize they needed to get rid of their diesel truck for a compact car and the husband committed to eating leftovers for lunch instead of eating out every day. They were willing to make those sacrifices for their family of four to get out of debt. We are proud of these six graduates for investing in themselves.
Have you ever thought about how your faith is directly related to your finances? On April 11th, we started an enrichment class called “Faith and Finances” that explores this question. We started with 11 participants who were interested in this 12-week study taught by Tausha Johnson and Mark Mattison.
Tausha has been volunteering at Lubbock Impact for the last several years and her expertise in finances and life has made her a great teacher. She has commented that this class has drawn her closer to the Lord and helped her see her own finances as a gift from God. Mark is currently serving as a Lubbock Impact board member, and after recently retiring, was looking for a way to use his knowledge in finance to serve. He admits he wasn’t sure how he would connect or understand the needs of the participants. He quickly learned that his knowledge was welcomed and has learned a lot from participants about not giving up in spite of hard situations.
In the class, the participants have candid conversations about their financial struggles and their need for budgeting. Some are trying to get away from living paycheck to paycheck while others are trying to navigate living on a single income with children. Then there is the added pressure of inflation making it harder to make ends meet.
Tausha and Mark do a great job of encouraging and thinking through solutions. Budgets are being created and participants are helping each other be accountable for their choices. One of the participants has a goal to “consult God in my giving and set a budget on giving.”
Please be praying for the “Faith and Finances” class as they finish up on June 27th. They are making an investment in themselves, and we are grateful to be able to offer this class. Our plan is to offer it again in the fall, as well as a few more enrichment classes.
When you partner with us financially, please know that you are investing in the lives of people in our community. Your support helps support a class, a meal, a patient, and an encounter with Christ. If you haven’t committed to supporting Lubbock Impact financially, will you please consider today to help us continue to make an impact in our community?
Some specific needs we have right now are:
- Men and Women’s Deodorant
- 3 -in-1 Soap (Body Wash, Shampoo, Conditioner)
- Individuals and families who are willing to donate $15 a month!
The team at Betenbough surprised us with a $1,000 check when they brought a group of 20 employees to volunteer during their workday! Then later in the month, we received another matching donation that had been given during an employee match give-back. The generosity of Betenbough to those we serve was a great blessing!
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Have you noticed that everywhere you look these days there is a sign or T-shirt reminding you to be kind? Just recently, the Lord used a special situation to remind me about the kindness of the volunteers who serve at Lubbock Impact.
A single mom with her four children came to the Community Meal for the first time. The mom shared that her children’s school counselor had texted her in the middle of the night saying she had been awakened by the Lord. The counselor told her, “You need to visit Lubbock Impact. They have resources and encouragement to help your family.”
Well, that mom accepted the invitation and brought her family to the Community Meal. As the family enjoyed their dinner, a volunteer came up to the mom and asked if she could pray for them. The mom began crying and said that it was the kindest thing anyone had said to her in weeks.
The volunteer prayed with her and took the prayer card the mom had filled out. Her nine-year-old son, with the biggest smile on his face, said, “I knew this was a good place!” The mom then took her kids up to the Children’s Ministry and stayed for the movie “The Chosen” about the life of Christ.
What an example of kindness! Shared through an invitation, a meal, a prayer, and an opportunity to learn more about Jesus. This story accounts for just one night and just one family, touched by the ministry of all who volunteer to serve at Lubbock Impact.
I am grateful for the school counselor who responded to God’s call to reach out to this family and invite them to taste and see the goodness of God. I am also grateful for the volunteer who exemplified Christ – serving and praying with the family – at a moment when they needed Him most.
May you receive the kindness you need to be encouraged today, and give the same kindness to someone who needs it!
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” – Colossians 3:12 |
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Wednesday, May 4th – Mother’s Day Meal at Lubbock Impact.
Sunday, May 8th – Happy Mother’s Day!
Tuesday, May 10th – Senior Lunch Bunch at noon and Senior Food Box drop off at 1 PM by the South Plains Food Bank.
Saturday, May 14th – Women’s Health Day at The Free Clinic.
Wednesday, May 18th – Last day for spring Children’s Ministry and Unpack Ministries until August.
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“The Chosen” – We are showing “The Chosen” Movie Series every Wednesday through June 1st after the Community Meal.|
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Some specific needs we have right now are:
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We are thrilled! Collision King has partnered with Lubbock Impact as a monthly donor to help meet the needs of their neighbors. The consistency of our monthly donors is vital to our ability to plan and carry out the ministries of Lubbock Impact. To top it off, Collision King graciously provided the Easter Outreach meal to the Wheelock neighborhood last month! |
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Another Spring Break has come and gone!
Even when it’s cold, Spring Break signals the true start of spring – at least in my book – as it brings sunlit evenings, nature’s first blooms, and one of my favorite holidays, Easter.
While I’m thinking of everything spring, I want to invite you to come to Lubbock Impact to watch “The Chosen.” Starting April 13th, we will be showing this eight-week movie series about the life of Christ after each Community Meal. If you can’t make it, please pray for hearts to be open to hearing the gospel and knowing the hope of Jesus.
Then, on April 15th, Lubbock Impact will be hosting a Good Friday outreach to our neighborhood at Wheelock Park. This will be an opportunity to share about the resources available at Lubbock Impact, enjoy an Easter egg hunt, and focus our hearts on the true meaning of the Easter weekend.
Though it’s not my favorite thing to do, spring is also a time for cleaning! And the month of March has been all about cleaning up the women’s and children’s Clothing Closets.
Groups came in to move everything out, pull carpet off the floors, paint the walls, fix the ceiling, and lay the flooring. The renovation gave a much-needed makeover to a place where ministry just happens naturally. Our Clothes Closets always invite conversations with shoppers about their needs, whether it be prayer or resources. We are thankful to have the space refreshed and grateful to the donors who made it possible!
It’s our belief at Lubbock Impact that when a guest or family comes to our Clothes Closet with a need, they deserve a place that provides dignity and value. Recently we have had several families come in to shop for their children and we were so grateful that we had what they needed. I also had the privilege of helping a man shop for some work boots and jeans, which he needed for a new construction job. In each of these interactions, we had the opportunity to pray with the individual as well. What a blessing!
Since reopening post-COVID, the Clothes Closet is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 AM – noon and then Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 7 PM.
The Lord has pressed on my heart that God is calling people to the doors of Lubbock Impact. He needs for us – me, you, volunteers – to be prepared to receive those in need.
The wisdom Jesus shared in Matthew chapter 7:7-8 about effective prayer expresses our calling to serve those in need of healthcare, food, clothing, and spiritual growth: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Whether physically being here to receive individuals, praying daily for the needs of our community, providing the resources, or financially making sure the doors can be opened, we need you!
Lubbock Impact is a touchpoint for so many in our community and it takes a village to continually be able to say, “Yes, we can help.” |
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Some specific needs we have right now are:
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We want to express a most sincere THANK YOU to Amanda Backus, Haley McBrayer and Katherine Schroeder, our three master level Texas Tech social work and public health interns! They have served the Lubbock Impact family since August 2021. While we are sad that April 28th will be their last day, we are thankful for the way they have connected participants through healthy relationships and resources. |
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What comes to mind when someone mentions the year 2007? Maybe a new baby, marriage, job, or friendship?
In the life of Lubbock Impact, the year 2007 was monumental. What began as a stirring in a pastor’s heart to reach the community has continued for 15 years; a testament to God’s faithfulness and love for His people.
Today we serve hundreds of guests weekly in the areas of healthcare, food, clothing, and spiritual growth – none of which is possible without our volunteers, staff, and generous donors!
Because of their support, we have seen countless lives changed for the better. Many have come to know Christ through conversations at Lubbock Impact over the past 15 years. We have been “family” to those who have needed a family, a prayer, a listening heart, or a helping hand. That was the vision from the beginning – to be a beacon of hope in central Lubbock.
We are grateful to reflect on all that has been accomplished and excited to look ahead to how we might best serve the community around us today.
Last week, the Lubbock Impact Board of Directors spent a day forming a strategic plan that will give us guidance over the next five years. This group is passionate about serving their neighbors and providing quality services to meet specific needs. We want to be faithful to ensure God’s work at Lubbock Impact continues for another 15 years!
If you didn’t know, Lubbock Impact has always been a volunteer-based ministry that does not receive state or federal funds. This means that every ministry and meal at Lubbock Impact is provided by the resources of people like you! What an incredible picture of provision!
We are now encouraging individuals and families to consider donating $15 each month in celebration of our past and preparation for our future! If you pledge to give $15 a month, over the course of a year, you will have given $180 to further the work of Lubbock Impact. You can easily go to our website to sign up to help us reach our goal of 150 donors!
Thank you for praying and supporting the ministry of Lubbock Impact. The Scripture that comes to mind as I have thought about Lubbock Impact and you is this:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:3-6
May God find us faithfully caring for our community in the days to come! |
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Three specific needs we have right now are:
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We want to highlight the groups who will be serving at Lubbock Impact during Spring Break for the renovation of our Clothing Closet!
KPA (Kingdom Preparatory Academy), Southcrest Baptist, The Heights Fellowship, First Church of Nazarene, Volunteer Center, Classical Conversations, and many others will be serving.
We are also thankful for Highpointe Village. They come every Wednesday morning for their Sweet Tooth class and also prepare the dessert for the Community Meal each week. We love when they volunteer at Lubbock Impact because they bring so much joy! |
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Being a part of Lubbock Impact for almost a year now, I have had the privilege of meeting and serving alongside countless volunteers, each of them giving time and resources that would ultimately change the course of a Lubbock Impact participant’s life. What a blessing to behold!
Over the last several weeks, many of our Lubbock Impact participants have come to me to ask, “Becky, how can I help?” to which I always reply, “Serve alongside me!” And guess what? They’ve taken me up on the invitation.
Two weeks ago, we were preparing for a drive-thru meal and several volunteers canceled late because of sickness. That left just seven of us to put together take-out boxes and get them outside for pickup. In the whirlwind of activity, a husband and wife appeared asking if they could help. They had been sitting in the Coffee Hall waiting to pick up their new glasses from the Eye Clinic. They saw the need and jumped right in. And we were very thankful they did!
Last week, a man stopped by for a food voucher and asked if he could start volunteering. And on Thursday, he arrived to help sort clothes. As a veteran and former minister who is in a place of recovery, he told me, “My heart longs to serve again.” Well, we gladly welcomed him into our family.
Are you looking for a family of service, too? There’s always a place for you at Lubbock Impact! Come and join us!
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27 |
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Two specific needs we have right now are Laundry Detergent Pods and 20 child-sized aprons.
We are also looking for volunteer groups that would be interested in helping with the renovation of the clothing closets during Spring Break (March 10 – 19). No experience required! Please email becky@lubbockimpact.com for more information. .
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