By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
GOLDEN MEAOW – Gulf Coast Baptist Church recently distributed one ton of pork while also planting Gospel seeds with the residents of Lafourche Parish.
Seven members and their children handed out boxes filled with frozen pork loin, a Bible and Gospel tract to more than 100 people at the Gulf Coast campus, May 10. The effort was the first scheduled activity for the church’s newest ministry, “Feeding Lafourche.”
Hannah Terrebonne, a GCBC member, said the volunteers followed Jesus’ example in Matthew 14:15-21: “Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
According to the Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans, one in five households in Louisiana is at risk of hunger. The organization said rising costs of food, housing and utilities, coupled with high unemployment and low-wage jobs have increased the need for emergency food assistance. Gulf Coast Baptist is one of more than 700 partners with the Food Bank, which encompasses a 23-parish area.
Frozen pork loin was among the items included in a box recently distributed by Gulf Coast Baptist Church to the community. Submitted photo
Terrebonne said future plans for Feeding Lafourche include using funds provided by a grant from the Louisiana Baptist Convention to purchase another freezer and shelving to increase its storage capacity.
“Christ commands us to share the Gospel with everyone, whether that’s through pork loins or something else it doesn’t matter as long as the message of Christ is the focus,” she said.
Pastor Shane Terrebonne, who is the father of Hannah, said the purpose of Feeding Lafourche is two-fold. “It’s worth it if only one person comes to Christ and it allows our church to create a positive buzz in our local community as a new church plant,” he said. “We want to communicate that we’re active in and care about our community.”
