With the inability to gather, many church outreach events had to change course. For Pastor Abraham Inju Hwang of Harmony Korean Church in Fresno, California, Thanksgiving is usually a time to gather at the church for fellowship and worship. Pastor Hwang prayed about how God could still use his church to reach the community this holiday season in the middle of a pandemic.

"Finally, God gave us wisdom, and above all, he connected churches, organizations, and individuals that would work together to produce a fruitful Thanksgiving Outreach," said Pastor Hwang. He then applied for and received a ministry grant from SoCal Baptist Ministries. With these funds, he led 65 volunteers to bring the Lord's love to peoples' homes in the Fresno area.

With each volunteer outfitted with appropriate masks and gloves, they visited more than 250 families, preached the gospel, read scripture, and prayed for each family. The volunteers handed out 270 turkey dinner sets, Bibles translated in English, Hmong, Cambodian, Laos, Vietnamese, Spanish, and gift boxes with food, masks, hand sanitizer, and clothes.

Those who received the gifts were very thankful for these blessings, and some expressed specific gratitude for the translated Bibles. One household told volunteers that the Cambodian Bible translation was a precious and challenging gift to find in the United States. A Lao Bible translation recipient said that specific translation was expensive in the U.S. and was thrilled to receive it as a gift!

"God did all this. God sent volunteers to work here as one, and He visited all the families in advance, touching people's hearts," said Pastor Hwang, "Although race, culture, and language were different, God has gracefully and abundantly used each volunteer through this Thanksgiving Outreach. Participants in the event reported that more than ten families had confessed their faith in Jesus Christ!"

The mission of SoCal Baptist Ministries is to empower California Southern Baptist mission and ministry projects and events that reach people for Christ and strengthen the sponsoring church or ministry. To learn more about ministry grants, go to bfcal.org/grants or call 909-738-4000.