One of the goals of Love INC is to communicate how much God values those in need and maintain their dignity.  A principle they use to accomplish this is, “Never do for a client what they can do for themselves.”  Here is a case from last week where that principle was applied, and God decided to multiply the power of it even more.

Over the past month Love INC has been working with a disabled veteran and his wife and teenage son.  They had been living in a tent in campgrounds for the past year as they went through the paperwork process to obtain proper benefits and affordable housing.  Their adult children are here in California so they felt it was important to stay in the area even with these struggles.  They came to Love INC as they were being offered housing but had some back bills and no furniture.  Several local churches saw the opportunity to show Christ’s love and helped them with the bills.  Love INC guided them through their Intake process and then directed them to the Furniture Unit that the Love INC churches maintain.  They had a truck and began to work at moving useable items into their modest, new place.  With much appreciation and prayers together they were gaining ground.

Love INC then got a call from a donor with furniture items to give including a gas stove.  The Love INC team had been looking for a gas stove for a Hispanic senior referred to us by a Santa Cruz City School District employee who knew of the need.  After verifying that the gas stove would fit in the senior’s place, Love INC recognized that the disabled veteran needed several of the other items.  The Love INC team contacted him with the good news but also a request for him to use his truck to deliver the gas stove to the woman in need.  He had a brother-in-law who could help him and the plan was made.  Love INC was glad to be a part of the wisdom of the Lord’s ways working in this situation.  But the Lord had more planned beyond their work.

On the day the pick-up and delivery was planned the brother-in-law could not make it.  Wondering what he could do, the veteran started out with his truck.  Then he went to the “wrong” place first, the elderly woman who needed the stove.  When he got there he realized his error and mentioned he would be back soon but was short of the help he had planned on.  Then the son of the elderly woman, who was there to translate, said he could help.  Together they made the pick-up of the stove she needed and the other items the veteran needed.

So Love INC ended up with a “client helping a client, helping a client, helping themselves.”  Such is God’s way of putting His touch on God’s people when they step out in simple acts of love framed in the time-tested and unifying ministry of Love INC.

Thanks to all involved with Love INC (churches, volunteers, etc.) for being a part of the Church in action in Santa Cruz County in the Name of Christ.  Spread the news of this great way to be used by God and bring more churches into the Love INC network.  Wouldn’t your church find fulfillment and joy in being a part of a story like this?

Your Love INC of Santa Cruz County Board

We’ve just added My Worship Revolution, the personal blog of Bobby Marchessault, to our directory of individual believers in Santa Cruz County.

Bobby is the Worship/Connections Pastor at Christian Life Center in Santa Cruz. Bobby has been blogging for over four years! His first post on his blog shared these as his reasons for blogging:

• to journal his thoughts and experiences
• to share growth and learnings in the area of worship
• to share resources and creative ideas with the larger community of worshippers

We would encourage you to subscribe to Bobby’s feed or bookmark his blog and build some online community with a fellow believer in our area!

The Door Christian Bookstore is Santa Cruz County’s newest Christian bookstore, brought to you by Santa Cruz County residents Mike and Kathy Dunn who also own The Door Christian Bookstore in San Carlos.

Mike and Kathy, as well as the rest of The Door staff, welcome and serve believers from many churches and denominations. They strive to provide a variety of books, music, cards, and gifts that will advance the Kingdom of Christ and nurture His people. When you visit The Door, they will make their best effort to help you find products that will assist you in your desire to grow as a Christian, to serve those around you, and to reach others with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

The Door is located at 3912 Portola Drive, Suite 13 in Santa Cruz.

We are pleased to welcome to our directory of Christian ministries in Santa Cruz County the work of Christian Coach and Counselor David Zuccolotto.

David is the driving force behind NavigateLeaders.com. His mission is to help Christian men and organizations to navigate the struggles and challenges of life to become leaders and examples of Christ at work, home and in their marriages. David works exclusively with men, or men and their wives, in the areas of divorce, remarriage, marriage counseling and blended families. His passion for these areas of life come from his own personal experience and years of professional training as a therapist.

We encourage you to visit David’s website and learn more about his ministry!

The Sentinel recently ran a story about a group from Twin Lakes Church which traveled to India to bring much-needed medical and dental aid to the village of Kondamangalam in southeast India.

We are pleased to announce the newest feature of ChristianCruz.com: online discussion forums! Please feel free to use these forums for fellowship with other believers in Santa Cruz County. From forums regarding Christian Life and Theology to Television, Books, and Movies, we have something for everyone. While the forums are available for all to read, you must be a member of ChristianCruz.com in order to post a new topic. But don’t worry, membership is free and simple - register here!