This is a draft
Policy for Saturday Food Ministry
4th Man Ministries primary objective is to preach the Gospel and encourage people to read their Bibles and truly seek the truth contained in God's Word. We want to make you aware of some of the pitfalls in the Christian walk, as well as help you develop a living, growing relationship with God. We also wish to impart a "Berean" attitude, where you'll receive what's being preached but then search the scriptures out for yourself to see if these things are so. There is a lot of false teaching, we want to equip people to be able to search out the truth for themselves.
Act 17:11 GW
(11) The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God's message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
The food outreach of 4th Man Ministries is a tool that God is using to allow us to meet that goal. We have partnered with Tree of Life which is a ministry of North Village Baptist Church. This will allow us meet the needs of the community more effectively and also show support for the church that has supported us for all these years.
As a ministry we are not looking forward to having to create or enforce rules. We've let it slide long enough and God has grown the ministry to the point that we now need some sort of general policies. We know there will always be legitimate exceptions but we need to make a general policy so people know their limitations, and what to expect. I never want this ministry to veer away from God's lead.
I'm still looking for help in trying to figure out who goes first. Usually when I get there people are already waiting. For the most part they are fine, but once in a while there's a little spat as to the order in the food line. Many people will claim their spot with a box then go outside to smoke or visit or they will help set up the room.
General Food Ministry Policy and Sequence of Events
Doors will open between 8:30 and 9:00 AM
Upon arrival we'll start brewing the coffee. If we have any pastries they will be put out at the overflow table where the coffee is.
This is a time to visit with each other. If you are a smoker please use see the new smoking policy.
The recreation area has been opened back up to us, you may use the equipment there during this time.
- Please use care with the equipment. If things start disappearing or getting broken it will be closed off to the food ministry.
- Children must be supervised while in the recreation area. Children may play outside (with supervision) Children are NOT ALLOWED to play on the stairs Please keep your children with you.
- Please help if you can when the vans arrive. We pick up from 3 different stores, so we have 3 different vans to unload. They very seldom arrive at the same time.
We try to start promptly at 10:00 but that doesn't always happen. There are many reasons we may be running late.
- We are dependent on the stores so if they are not ready, we have to wait on them. We have no control over the stores.
- We may be short on volunteers or vehicles to pick up the food.
- We have a developmentally disabled person living with us. If he has a problem we have to deal with it.
- Sometimes we get a lot or a little, we have no control. If a store has donated a lot of food, our volunteer drivers may need to travel to different stores in order to transport all the food.
- Unloading and sorting the food once the vans have arrived.
- Any of the above events may cause us to start late.
Once the announcement has been made that we are going to start soon, please come inside and take your seat. During the announcements and mini sermon please be quiet and respectful. If you have children with you please keep an eye on them and keep them as quiet as possible. If you have questions about the sermon, please ask afterwards, if the sermon portion takes too long people get restless, also any cold food warms up.
Once the line starts, please be patient with the person in front of you. One of the unique things about our ministry is that we allow people to shop.
Please adhere to the limits set at the beginning. You may go around as many times as you need to until we run out of food. Please keep an eye on your food box as well as any other personal items you may have brought. We are not responsible for lost or stolen items.
Please examine the food you receive carefully, we make every attempt to get rid of anything that looks spoiled but occasionally we may miss something.
Our rule has always been one box per family. Our ministry has grown to the point that we can no longer be lax with this policy. Children are no longer allowed to each get a box when their families go through the line. The same goes for husband/wives etc. We regret having to enforce this policy but our goal is to be fair to everyone and give everyone an equal chance. Keep in mind that you can go around as many times as you want, this policy is to give everyone an equal chance for the more popular items.
In the event that someone you usually come with is ill or otherwise occupied you may get a box for them. You need to let our staff know this before the line starts and you and the person must be known to us. Occasional exceptions only.
Clothing, Hygiene and Household Items
Tree of Life ministry and 4th Man Ministries have partnered together to meet the needs of the Body of Christ more efficiently. We work together, but keep in mind we are different ministries with different policies, limits and times.
If you need clothing, hygiene or household items, please see a Tree of Life volunteer, anyone behind the table can let you know who they are.
Tree of Life's main ministry time is on Sunday, it would be better if you can return Sunday to get your items, that way they can devote enough time to your needs. During food ministry their focus is on food distribution primarily, if time and volunteers permit they may be able to help you but this is nothing you can count on.
Our volunteers and Tree of Life taking food boxes.
Since our return to North Village, we have joined with Tree of Life ministry (a North Village ministry) to better serve the neighborhood. We're donating back and forth more than ever. Part of Tree of Life's outreach is to bring food boxes to their home-bound members. We support Tree of Life and their outreaches, they supply their own volunteers to load the food boxes. I'm including this explanation to avoid confusion. When you see a row of food boxes behind the table, you'll know we're not just taking all that food for ourselves. The same limits are placed on volunteer food boxes that affect the general population.
You may still donate to the ministry, However some things have changed. Most if not all of the clothing or household items are being given straight to Tree of Life. They have a much better system to inventory and distribute than we do. 4th Man Ministries is only there on Saturdays, Tree of Life is native to North Village. This also allows us to support the local church in a much better way than we've been able to in the past.
Donation Policy (money)
As a ministry we do accept monetary donations although we often forget to put out the donation can. If you feel that you want to contribute and the donation can is not out you may give your donation to any volunteer behind the tables. Please be certain we are not charging for food, whether or not you give anything has no bearing on the amount or quality of food you get. In fact, if you don't understand why you're giving, please don't.
Smoking Policy
Our new smoking area will be behind the fellowship hall. We will unlock it right after we get there. Please use ash trays and trash receptacles provided. This is an equipment area so please keep an eye on your children if you have them.
We are ministers, not police. We really don't want to have to be enforcers of the rules. In reality, we simply don't have the volunteer staff to keep an eye on everyone and everything. You're cooperation is important to us. It is our hope that we'll never have to ask anyone to leave, but policy needs to be enforced equally and fairly.
Discussion and/or suggestions can be posted at the Cross Roads, Please note that you'll need to be registered in order to post in the volunteers section.
