Outreach

T.G.I.F. is our weekly ministry to bless and engage the students of Andrew Lewis Middle School. On Friday afternoons ALMS students often walk from the school up to Main Street. We stand on the front lawn and greet them as they walk by, offering them drinks, snacks, games, inspiring conversations, and mission opportunities. Please pray for this ministry! And if God is calling you to participate, contact the Pastor!

Our mission trip to the Salem Food Pantry and Mrs. Dorsey’s Clothes Closet happens every fourth Friday of the month. We deliver sandwiches and other items to our friends who visit these two locations. We have been averaging well over 100 sandwiches distributed every month and the need continues. Please pray for this important ministry and, contact us to see how you can help! You can by making one loaf of bread into sandwiches (any kind with no condiments) or supplying fresh fruit. So, please join us!

Family Promise of Greater Roanoke empowers homeless families with children to achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.  The vision of Family Promise is a community in which every family has a home, a livelihood, and the chance to build a better future.  We are a network of 31 congregations and over 1,000 volunteers who provide temporary housing and meals for families with children.

We work with 4 families at a time (14 people). We provide full-time case management to assist families in addressing and overcoming causes of homelessness and creating goals of employment, housing, education in their return to independence.

Two weeks before Halloween, on a Sunday afternoon, our youth distribute over 100 paper bags (donated form an area grocery store) in a local neighborhood with instructions as to what to put in them. The following Sunday we are blessed to collect them. The next week we take the filled bags of non-perishables to the Salem Food Panty to serve our friends in need. Another awesome way to show our support for the underserved in our community.

Every first Sunday in February, we gather at local Kroger stores and collect soup and other foods items for underserved area seniors. What we end up collecting is always several hundred pounds that goes a long way in helping our more senior neighbors.

Kids Soar is an After School Literacy Program for children in grades K-5th grade which is conducted Monday-Friday during the school year. Emphasis is on children reading on grade level by the end of the 3rd grade. Children receive a snack, help with homework, literacy instruction, extracurricular activities (art, music, Christian education, US history, and STEM), story time, and a hot meal each evening. Central’s Women in Mission provides a hot meal for the children every other month during the school year. It is a joy to provide the meal and interact with the children and their mentors. Food not used during the meal time is donated to the program. Kids Soar also has a youth program for children 8th-12th grade on Monday and Thursday evenings and an Adult (Family) Program for the adults of the children on Monday evenings. The program is currently located at Windsor Hills UMC.

Alta Mons is a summer camp and retreat center owned by the Roanoke District of the United Methodist Church. It is open year ’round providing space for others to experience God through outdoor ministry. The camp provides summer camp and other programs throughout the year for children of all ages, as well as facilities available to rent for family reunions, retreats, and small group meetings. Alta Mons has several challenge courses and a pool is available for rent. It is a place for people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds to come for a retreat with God. To learn more about Alta Mons, go to their web page at www.altamons.org.