Contact: Pamela Heaton, NorthRidge Church, 734-233-3621, 734-476-5415 mobile, pheaton@northridgechurch.com
PLYMOUTH, Mich., Feb. 10, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- In January 2010, a massive earthquake devastated the small Caribbean country of Haiti, killing more than 300,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands more homeless.
Since then, relief efforts have poured into the country, but thousands of children remain starving. NorthRidge Church is reaching out to Haiti and needy children across the globe with its Million Meals campaign this weekend.
More than 5,000 volunteers from the Plymouth-based church will be working Friday through Sunday to pack food specifically designed to save the lives of severely malnourished children. According to NorthRidge Senior Pastor Brad Powell, the church's aim is to actively reach beyond its walls to help those in need.
"We don't want to be just known as that large church," he said, "but as that generous church. We want to be a church that follows the example God gave us -- to be driven by compassion to give our best, to give generously."
NorthRidge is partnering with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding starving children. Volunteers from the church's three campuses, which includes satellites in Howell and Saline, will be working almost non-stop starting Friday at 6 p.m. until Sunday at 6:30 p.m. to reach its million meal goal.
"Why do we do this?" he asked rhetorically. "It's really a part of our DNA at NorthRidge. One of our values states that the church most visibly evidences the love of Christ by ministering with compassion and care to the poor, sick, hurting, lonely, rejected and forgotten people of the world."
The event will be held at Whitmore Lake Middle School, which is located at 8877 Main Street in the community that sits between Ann Arbor and Brighton off of U.S. 23. Powell said the school is a central location to NorthRidge's three campuses.
The senior pastor challenged his congregation in early January to come up with 5,000 volunteers to pack the million meals. In less than three weeks, church members had filled all of the vacancies.
"I'm extremely pleased with the response," Powell said. "It speaks to the quality of folks that attend NorthRidge. They've volunteered not only their time, but financially to make this weekend a reality."
FMSC ships meals to nearly 70 countries around the world. Each meal costs only 19 cents to produce. Powell noted that $70 can feed a child for an entire year.
"A dozen children can have a meal for the price of a latte," he added. This weekend is the first in what he says will be a year of reaching beyond NorthRidge's walls. "At the regional level, we'll work with soup kitchens, City Mission and Orphan Care, among others. Internationally, we have been to Haiti and India and are continuing to make investments in needy areas around the world. With its main campus at 49555 N.Territorial Road in Plymouth, Michigan, NorthRidge Church is a non-denominational ministry that serves approximately 20,000 southeastern Michigan residents. Senior Pastor Brad Powell has led the congregation for the past 20 years. NorthRidge offers six services each weekend; four at the Plymouth location and one at each of their satellite locations. For more information, please visit NorthRidge at northridgechurch.com.
