September 2018

October kicks off Serving 9-1-1 Month

Serving You Ministries is asking for your help to support families in our community this year. Our campaign is called SERVING 911. $9 a month will serve 1 family 1 time this year. 100% of your tax deductible donation will go toward helping a family in the following areas: 

• A client choice food pantry that will provide 490 meals per $108 given (Total budget $30,000). 

• Weekend backpacks snacks that will be given to children in area schools who show signs of malnutrition over the course of a weekend. 25 backpack snacks provided per $108 given (Total budget $15,000).

• Assistance with a utility bill that will help relieve the burden of having no power, hot water, or way to cook. (Total budget $130,000) 

• Providing hope to families in the greater Birmingham area by providing sustainable solutions to challenges they face.  We assist in education, child care, job readiness, safe and affordable housing, health and nutrition, and crisis relief through our hub partnerships.  (Total budget $75,000) 

If you would like to make a donation online, please click HERE.

September was a busy month at Serving You Ministries

September was a great month at Serving You Ministries! We helped 215 families with food! That means that over 600 people were fed this month because of your generosity! In addition to the food given at Merchant Market, we also gave $6,796 in utility assistance during September! God is so good and we are so thankful for all that he is doing in the Birmingham area!

We also had lots of great Sunday volunteers during September! Thank you to Rebirth Christian Fellowship, NorthPark Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church Trussville for sending teams out to serve! We love serving alongside our partners in ministry!

We also celebrated our two year anniversary at our Eastlake Location! We had no idea how God would grow this ministry when we made the move to Birmingham but oh how He has! We celebrate new clients and new students every day! 


Thank you for your continued support we could not do any of this without you!

August 2018

August has been a busy month at Serving You Ministries! Between fundraisers and school starting back, we have been at full throttle all month long!

During the month of August, Serving You provided 222 families with food through our client-choice food pantry, Merchant Market. In addition to food, SYM helped families with almost $9000 in utility assistance! In total this month, Serving You Ministries served 494 people. Over 500 people heard the Gospel and received prayer this month. Praise God for all He is doing in Eastlake!

Earlier this month, we had a golf fundraiser at Silver Lakes in Gadsden. The turnout was great! We had 22 teams playing across the 18 holes all to help Serving You Ministries do what we do. We cannot thank the participants enough and North Valley Church for hosting the fundraiser!

Also in August, we visited the Lovelady Center for a time of worship and teaching! Thank you NorthPark Baptist Church for providing the worship and First Baptist Church Trussville for doing crafts with the children!

We also had New Volunteer Training this past month. It was a time for members of our partner churches, that felt called to serve, to come together and hear the vision of Serving You Ministries and our Hub partners. We had a great turn out and have SIX new volunteers signed up and ready to start serving this September!

In August, we also had our 3rd class from Hope Inspired Ministries graduate and our 4th and LARGEST class yet to begin the program! Please continue to be in prayer for these students as they prepare their hearts and minds to make the changes needed in their lives. We are already so proud of these guys!

We can never say it enough, but THANK YOU! Thank you for all you guys do! Thank you for all the ways you support Serving You Ministries and the work being done here. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for the time served here. We could never do any of this without YOU!

Have a great start to the fall! We will check back in next month! Be blessed!

July 2018

Summer is officially coming to a close and as we look back over the past month, we are blown away by how amazing God is! During the month of July, we helped over 146 families and 350 people with food and over $4,000 in emergency utility assistance! Even more amazing is that we had SIX, yes SIX, people come to know the Lord last month! God is using this ministry, the volunteers, and your gifts to do big things! So THANK YOU for all YOU DO to help Serving You!

July also held our 2nd Annual Serving Younited Week!  

July 22nd through July 26th Serving You presented it's 2nd Annual Serving Younited Week! We had over 50 people participate with five different churches represented! We worked on FIVE different homes and the Serving You Building got some work done on it too! We had THREE different Bible Clubs going on around the city and had a multitude of Gospel conversations! God truly showed up during Serving Younited Week!

We wrapped up Serving Younited Week by helping out at Oliver's Ready Day One program on Saturday, July 28th! SCA Performance's staff came out to prepare food and serve over 500 hamburgers and hotdogs! There were games and jumpy houses for the students to enjoy and parents were able to pick up school supplies for the kids! It was a great way to end the week!

Thank you again for all you do to make Serving You Ministries possible! July was an incredible month and we cannot wait to see what the fall is going to hold!

June 2018

June was an awesome month at the You!

God has always blessed the work done at Serving You and June was no exception! In the last month, Serving You provided emergency and crisis relief through utility assistance in the amount of $6904. In addition to the monetary assistance given, we served over 189 families and 459 people through our client choice food pantry.

Our partner ministry, Hope Inspired Ministries, saw their second graduating class from the U Ministry Hub and almost all of the graduates are currently employed! Glove Ministries is continuing to hold support meetings weekly for women in abused situations to help them recover their self-worth and find freedom. Also, East Lake Initiative officially joined the U Ministry Hub and has begun working directly with the Hub partners as the last step in this process to help people find affordable housing! God is so good!

Also in June, Serving You sent a team to Italy through Sports Reach to help spread the Gospel through a sports camp for children. This was the third year and the relationships that are growing between the adults and the children are INCREDIBLE! We saw God move in amazing ways! Muslims, atheists, and many Catholics all heard the freeing Word of God! Continue to pray for the Vitter family as they stay behind in Italy to continue the work and begin to pray for next years team!

Thank you for your continued support! We couldn't do any of this without our partners, supporters, volunteers, and friends! Know that you are always in our prayers as we thank God for what He is doing here at the U Ministry Hub!

 

April 2018

It's been an amazing month at Serving You!

April was a great month at Serving You Ministries and the U Ministry Hub! All of our partner ministries have been in full swing and we have enjoyed the new energy in the building from all our new friends!

With the winter months being so cold, our clients are still trying to catch up on those really high bills. We paid $6223 in utility assistance this month. Through Merchant Market, our client-choice food pantry, we provided groceries for 213 families and over 400 people! We also partnered with JCCEO to help an additional 40 people with utility assistance and food in a special assistance day here at the U Ministry Hub!

It's been an amazing month and we are so grateful for all our partners, supporters, volunteers, and for YOU!
 

March 2018

Happy March Serving You Family! It has been an amazing month!

This past month Serving You helped families in crisis with almost $7000 in financial assistance. In our food pantry we provided food for over 140 families. That makes a total of 282 people that will NOT go hungry this month!

Serving You moved and opened our client-choice food pantry, Merchant Market, with double the square-footage making room for more volunteers and more clients each day! Serving You officially opened the "U Ministry Hub" - moving in partner agencies to help with assistance needs seen at Serving You on a daily basis. WorkFaith and Hope Inspired Ministries help our clients with job training and life skills. East Lake Initiative will assist with housing and nutrition needs. We are even offering off-site childcare at New Rising Star for clients in our classes! And of course, Serving You is still offering nutritional assistance through the food pantry and financial assistance during times of crisis.

It has been amazing to see God work through the new partnerships located all under one roof at the U Ministry Hub. Please continue to pray for Serving You and all of their partner ministries this summer as we continue to grow and learn together!

Thank you for your continued financial support, your continued volunteer hours, and your continued prayers! We could not make any of this happen without YOU!

February 2018

Is Serving You Busier Since the Move?

Often people ask, “Is Serving You busier since the move?” To better answer that question, let us give you a visual. Everyday, we have to fill out paperwork for each family that receives food from us.  In the picture below, the stack on the left is a 4-month period from 2014 and the stack on the left is a 4-month period from 2017... so to answer that question - YES!!!!

Starting in March, Serving You Ministries is going to be addressing a two-generational approach in assisting single moms in the Birmingham area overcome barriers that are keeping them from being successful at caring for their children.

Single moms struggle with adequate child care, education and work development, nutrition, housing, and crisis relief. With the blessing of the building donation to Serving You, we are able to start a Northeastern Birmingham Hub to address all these issues in one central location. We will be partnering with New Rising Star Community Church to provide child care off site, Work Faith Birmingham to provide a 10-day work development course at Lovelady Center and Salvation Army, Hope Inspired Ministries to provide a 9-week work development course onsite, housing options through East Lake Initiative, nutrition assistance through Serving You Ministries and East Lake Initiative, and crisis relief also by Serving You Minsitries.

If you are wondering if we are busier... absolutely! Things are about to be wide-open at the Serving You Ministries Hub.  

Please know we appreciate your support and covet your prayers. We would love to have you jump in and be part of the Hub.  We need volunteers for all of these initiatives and ministries.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead your decision to serve here on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. To for more information about any of our partner ministries or to sign up to volunteer, email Kathy at kathy.woods@servingyou.org.

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During the month of February, Serving You Ministries assisted in over $8,922.41 in Emergency Utility Assistance.

This month, Serving You provided emergency food relief to 160 families in need.

Over 370 individuals heard the Gospel and were served through Serving You Ministries in February 2018.

January 2018

We have had a great start to 2018!

Although it was a chilly month with a few "snow days" mixed in, we still had an amazing start to 2018 at Serving You! The cold meant that energy bills were higher and clients were still recovering from Christmas, so we had many opportunities to assist this month!

We were able to help families with $6,287.37 in utility assistance during the month. We also served over 155 families, with a total of 326 people, in the Food Pantry during January. This month, Serving You delivered over 200 Backpack Snacks to the students at Oliver Elementary. Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, and partners for helping to make this another great month! 

We Have Exciting News!

God continues to bless Serving You Ministries through great church partnerships, faithful financial donors, and amazing volunteers. This month we had an additional blessing... The Church of the Highlands gifted Serving You the deed to the building! 6523 1st Avenue North now officially belongs to Serving You Ministries!

Through this gift, Serving You is hoping to use the building as a hub for ministries and services in the Eastlake and Birmingham area. Work Faith will remain with us, but we will be adding Hope Inspired Ministries and East Lake Initiative to our hub. It is going to be exciting to be able to offer clients even more services all under one roof!

Fundraiser Time!

Serving You also kicked off it's fundraiser in January! This year, in place of the silent auction, Serving You is going to use Donation Cards to help raise the money needed for the 2018 year. These cards contain dollar amounts from $1 up to $36. If you are interested in donating a specific dollar amount, you can give online or to any Serving You volunteer. 

If you are interested in sponsoring us for the entire amount of one card, you may do so for a one-time gift of $700. You may also email John or Kathy to receive a PDF of the actual cards if you are interested in sharing what Serving You does with your friends and family and taking donations from them.

Our goal is to get 25 cards filled up by March! If we meet our goal of 25 cards, we will have raised over $16,000!

Thank you again for your support! You make this ministry possible!

December 2017

Big Things have happened at Serving You in 2017!

2017 has been a great year at Serving You! We have assisted 2,166 families and 5,814 individuals with food, job and financial training, and with $94,507 in financial assistance in times of crisis. Over 2,400 people have heard the Gospel throughout the year!

Through our backpack ministry, we served over 23,436 meals through 3,348 backpack snack bags. Through our partnership with Changed Lives Christian Center we have helped serve 970 hot meals to men residing at the center. 

During 2017 we have had 16 graduates from Financial Peace University and 44 graduates from Work Faith Birmingham.

In 2017, we also introduced something new... Serving Younited Week in July! During Serve Week we had over 230 volunteers from 12 different churches partnering together to work all over the city of Birmingham. Mornings of Serve Week, volunteers completed work at 7 different sites including decking, painting, and roofing. During the afternoons, we had over 100 children from across Birmingham participating in Backyard Bible Clubs! The week ended with a shared meal and worship service! What an amazing time of service and worship for us all!

Thank you all for your continued support! We are excited about 2018 and what the year holds!

John Gibson

November 2017

November was a great month at Serving You!

Serving You had another busy month assisting residents from all over the Birmingham area! We were able to help families with $4,656.52 in utility assistance during the month. We also served over 170 families, with a total of 528 people, in the Food Pantry during November. This month, Serving You delivered over 300 Backpack Snacks to the students at Oliver Elementary and served 80 meals at Changed Lives Christian Center. Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, and partners for helping to make this such a great month!

John Gibson

October Recap

Serving You had another busy month assisting residents from all over the Birmingham area! We were able to help families with $7,771.69 in utility assistance during the month. We also served over 221 families, with a total of 672 people, in the Food Pantry during October. In addition to our services in house, we also delivered 376 Backpack Snacks to the students at Oliver Elementary and served 80 meals at Changed Lives Christian Center. Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, and partners for helping to make this such a great month!

In addition to our normal routine, this month we partnered with Oak Tree Ministries and the Woodlawn Foundation to provide food for a Community Night at Marks Village. This evening gave parents, teachers, and students an opportunity to meet and discuss the school year! It was a blessing to be able to provide a meal for this amazing event and these special families!
 

John Gibson

September 2017

Good Afternoon!!!

October kicks off our Serving 911 campaign.  $9 a month will help 1 family 1 time this next year.

Each month we will help over 200 families with crisis relief: food, clothing, and financial assistance. This past month we helped 184 families (559 people) with food assistance with a market value of $20,000 in groceries.  In addition, we helped families with $7,852.78 of financial assistance easing the burden of lost jobs, maternity leave, sickness, divorce, and single working mothers. 

Through our support of Oliver Elementary, we provide backpack snacks to children in the area that show signs of malnutrition over the course of the weekend. We offer work development support to WorkFaith graduates. In addition, we visit prisons with our SportsReach softball team. 

Please consider sponsoring or continuing to support Serving You with a one-time donation of $108 or a reoccuring $9 monthly gift. Prayerfully consider giving to support one or more families this year, but please give according to how God purposes in your heart and remember to always give cheerfully.  Please know we will continue to be good stewards of your gift.  Help us spread the word about Serving 911 on social media and in your church home.

Click HERE to find out more and join the 911 Campaign today!

To God be the Glory!

Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson

August 2017

Greetings from the U,

Serving You would like to thank the many partnerships we have in Birmingham. The Lord has graciously given us many great church partnerships within the city. We take referrals of all non-members of our partnering churches and game plan to assist the family according to a variety of factors. We care for the family as they go through a crisis and help those with an employment crisis through our partnership with WorkFaith Birmingham.

This past month on August 29th we were able to partner with Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO) and set up a satellite site here at SYM to assist those that normally don’t qualify with us for assistance. JCCEO was able to assist with a little user $3,000 that day.

Individual support is essential for us as well and we thank you for continuing to support our intiatives. Next month our Serving 911 campaign kicks off, help us spread the word, $9 a month will help 1 family for 1 year ($108 one time donation).  

If you've ever thought about serving with us, now is a great time to plug in! Choose a date above & join us for volunteer training. 

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August Numbers:

• 717 individuals fed through our Client Choice Food Pantry
• $11,203.92 in financial assistance
• 7 professions of faith
• 4 graduates from WorkFaith Birmingham coursework
• 75 weekend backpack snacks for food insecure children to have adequate food over the course of a weekend
• 80 men served a hot meal at the Changed Lives Christian Center

Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson

July 2017

The heartbeat of Serving You Ministries is to serve our community in any area of need TOGETHER.  Last week we served as ONE at our first annual Serving Younited Week. Over 230 people from at least 12 different churches participated!

IN THE MORNINGS...

We partnered with Metro Changers, Abiding Hearts Home Care, The Church Brook Hills and Oliver Elementary to serve at 7 different worksites, completing a roof, deck, painting, prepping Oliver for Ready Day One, and cooking and cleaning for the elderly around Birmingham!

IN THE AFTERNOONS...

We partnered with Oak Tree Ministries, the Lovelady Center, and Harris Homes to have 3 Rock the Blocks (back yard Bible clubs) and had over 160 children in attendance!

We've already heard a few great stories of how the Lord was at work last week and how some great gospel conversations took place! Join us in praising Him for last week and asking Him to grow the seeds that were planted. If you have something to share from last that we haven't heard yet, we'd love to hear from you! If you had the opportunity to share the gospel last week we'd love to hear about that as well.

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MORE SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

LOVE OLIVER
To conclude the serve week, we came alongside several churches and the McSweeny Foundation at our annual Love Oliver day. Kids received backpacks, school supplies, and uniforms to get them ready for the school year. They earned vouchers to shop for these needed supplies by meeting attendance and reading goals throughout the previous school year.

YOUTH SERVANTS

Throughout the summer months we had several youth groups serve at our ministry center! The teens served as chaplains, food pantry hosts, intake workers, and our hospitality hosts. We love seeing the next generation being discipled to serve their city! 

JUNE & JULY NUMBERS

• $13,574.36 given in utility assistance
• 293 families with 823 individuals served through the food bank
• 353 people were prayed with & shown the gospel during their appointment

SPORTS REACH TRIP

We're looking for more men to join the SportsReach softball prison ministry trip to Orlando, FL, November 1-5! The cost will be $250. If interested please contact John at john.gibson@servingyou.org.

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You can see more photos from the summer events and stay up to date with everything happening at SYM by following us on social media! Links to our Instagram and Facebook are below! 

Thank you for continuing to partner with us to serve our community in the love of Christ! 

Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson
Executive Director

May 2017

May showers bring the Lord’s increase here at the U! We were able to pray and share the gospel with over 200 families this month! According to I Corithians 3:6, we know that we plant the seed and sometimes we water the seed that others have planted BUT it is God who makes it grow.

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Mark your calendars & sign up today!

This summer we will be serving our community July 24-27 during our first ever Serving Younited Week. We will be at work projects (painting, roofing, wheel chair ramps, landscaping, etc.) in the morning, prayer walking and back yard bible clubs in the afternoon, and having a prayer dinner and service on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  We would love for you to join us, it is a free event and we hope to be planting and watering seeds of the Gospel right here in our own home town of Birmingham.

Click HERE to register! 

**Registration closes June 19th - we need to know who will be participating so that we can be sure to line up enough homes & Bible Club sites ahead of time!**

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MAY NUMBERS:

• $8,662.51 given in financial assistance
• 210 families received food (637 individuals)
• 63 volunteers this month from over a dozen partnering churches
• 270 weekend backpack snacks delivered to two local schools
• 4 people prayed to receive Christ
• 6 WorkFaith graduates
• Provided teacher appreciation lunch and gifts to teachers at Oliver Elementary School
• 80 men served dinner at Changed Lives Christian Center

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Summer Serving!

Looking for opportunities to serve with your family or youth group this summer? Contact us to get signed up to work in our food bank! We want to help you be intentional with your kids during their off time by training the next generation to serve. 

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May we continue to Serve Him by Serving You,
John Gibson

April 2017

A huge thank you to everyone who supported in so many ways at our fourth annual benefit dinner last week. We were able to raise over $16k after expenses! We could not have done it without you! 

We had a great month at our ministry center and wanted to give you some quick highlights:

• Served over 50 families at the Oliver PTA Science Fair
• Visited Donaldson Correctional with our SportsReach softball team
• Packed and distributed 364 weekend backpack snacks
• Served 196 families in our client choice food pantry
• $8,926.46 in financial assistance
• Had 2 graduate in the WorkFaith Birmingham class
• 2 people prayed to receive Christ! 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES!

• Summer is quickly approaching and this year we are looking for youth groups to come volunteer with us at our ministry center! We can accommodate a group of 6-8 youth per session. This is a great way to train the next generation in ministry. 
   
• We are looking for a few able bodied volunteers to begin helping on Mondays from 1-4pm in restocking the food bank. If you're interested in serving in this area weekly or monthly, just let us know!
   
• Oliver Elementary Field Day will be May 23rd. If you are available to volunteer for any amount of time throughout that day, please let us know & we will be happy to give you a shift! 

Please email Raquel at raquel.patterson@servingyou.org for any summer volunteer work, hurry the days will fill up fast!

Don't forget! Our local mission week, Serving Younited, will be July 24-27. 
Register your family, small group, or church HERE by June 19th! 

The daily schedule for Serving Younited will be:

8:30 am - Meet at Work Project Sites
12 pm - Lunch at SYM
1:30-2:30 pm - Prayer Walking
3-5:00 pm - Backyard Bible Clubs
5:30 pm - Wednesday & Thursday - Dinner
6:30 pm - Wednesday - Prayer Gathering / Thursday - Worship Service

Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson

March 2017

March was another great month at Serving You. We are continuing to build relationships in Birmingham through the schools and with residents who come through our ministry center and WorkFaith.

We have had the blessing to know Artimis, a former Serving You client and WorkFaith Graduate. He came to us seeking assistance in September of 2016. We offered our WorkFaith Incentive as he had no income and was struggling to find employment because of his past. He graduated from the WorkFaith class and was even voted Class President. We are thankful to another great partner, McSweeney Holdings, who hired Artimis and gave him a chance. Michael McSweeney recently sent an email about Artimis that I wanted to share:

"Just wanted to give you a cool update. Artimis is doing great. He is beyond a blessing to our organization. He is hard working and has a great/contagious attitude. He began having prayer time with some of his team during their break time. Their group then started praying together at the end of the day every Friday, thanking God for His blessings and favor during the week. The group has spread to other departments, all huddling up at AJ’s work station at the end of the week. IT IS SO AWESOME to see how he is affecting people!
-Michael”

Come hear Artimis share his testimony at our Dinner and Silent Auction on Friday, April 28th at FBC Trussville. Doors open at 6pm.
Click HERE to order tickets.

Highlights in March:

• 3 Professions of faith
• 2 WorkFaith Birmingham referred graduates
• 6 Financial Peace attendees
• $8,224.59 in financial assistance

 

 

Food in March:

• 171 families with 480 individuals served in our food pantry
• 364 weekend backpacks distributed to children in need
• 80 meals provided at Changed Lives Christian Center

Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson
Executive Director

February 2017

Daily we read tragic stories concerning families in Birmingham and I admit it breaks my heart to hear of the loss of a life due to the evil in our world. This reminds me that we see brokenness everyday at our ministry center and we ourselves are broken. Without grace, I could be sitting on the other side of the desk or in prison because of the many bad decisions I made in my past. While we are still works in progress, we must not forget that Christ restores our brokenness. Our response everyday should be to love our neighbors without judgement, care for each other, and have compassion as Jesus did - this moves us to do something!

Mark your calendars for our 4th Annual Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction on April 28th at 6:30pm at FBC Trussville.

You can purchase tickets HERE.

You can find out how to become an event sponsor HERE.

We ask for your continued support and prayer for the work being done here at the You.  

February Highlights:

• 173 families (456 people) shopped for groceries in our client choice food pantry
• 364 weekend backpack snacks delivered to children in need of food
• 120 hot meals served for the men staying at the Changed Lives Christian Center and Steel City Ministries
• 3 WorkFaith referred graduates
• 12 people attending our 9-week Financial Peace classes
• $10,085.66 given in crisis financial assistance
• prayer, encouragement, and gospel shared with every person that came to SYM

In Christ,

John Gibson

January 2017

2017 is off to a great start. Our client choice food pantry is now open on Sunday’s from 2:30-4:30, which gives a great opportunity for families to serve together. Speaking of our food area, check out our new freezer and cooler below.

Numbers for January:

• 12 people attending our 9 week financial literacy program 

• 4 WorkFaith referred graduates

• $9,485.57 in financial assistance

• 173 families received food at our client choice food pantry (505 individuals)

• Dinner provided at Oliver Elementary network night

• Distributed 364 weekend backpack snacks

Thank you for your trust and partnership!

In Christ,
John Gibson

December 28, 2016

2016 was an incredible year at Serving You. We truly saw God provide in amazing ways through faithful giving and partnerships. As we reflect on this year and look forward to the year to come I wanted to share with you an update on what the Lord did in 2016.

Below is a snapshot of what your giving supported:

Praise God with us for all He has done, above what we could have imagined, this year! 

As you consider your Year-End Giving watch this short video to hear a testimony from our friends, the Wrights.

To make a Year-End Contribution you can give online at servingyou.org/donateor mail checks postmarked by December 31st to Serving You Ministries at 6523 1st Ave N. Birmingham, AL 35206. 

One goal we have at SYM for 2017 is to make our client choice food pantry even better, with fresh produce and more frozen food options. Will you join us in praying for provision of this walk-in freezer? 

Looking forward to another incredible year Serving Him by Serving You,
John Gibson
Executive Director