Our community has had an awakening in the past year to the poverty next door.   Homeless relief and homeless prevention has moved to the forefront of churchʻs priorities and the advent conspiracy gave us an opportunity to make a significant statement over the Holidays.  We did a talk on transformation and showed the AC promo to illuminate that it often starts with the day to day shift in awareness of how you and others around you are living.  So we wrapped a huge cardboard box as a giant present with a slot on the top and asked the people that over the next 4 weeks they would consider giving up one gift and putting those funds in the box w/ the $ going toward homeless relief/prevention.  We counted the money and wrapped the number in a smaller box that we opened on Christmas Eve, $21,000 was raised.  We were able to present the check the following Sunday to the designated agencies as well as have our mayor and county supervisor come out and share their gratitude to us as a faith community leading the way in caring for our city. 
Anyway...it was really good.
And we’re doing the same thing for valentines day.

jesse p. giglio - community life pastor
ventura . missionary . church
ventura, ca