MAXWELL — A fridge to keep medication at proper temperature. Extra beds and dressers for a grandparent raising grandchildren. A washer for a local veteran.
A local furniture ministry delivers donated beds, dressers and appliances to people with a need for them.
It’s a busy season for Faith’s Furniture Ministry. Following Christmas and some frigid weather the team of volunteers, which typically picks up and delivers two Saturdays a month, has been working weekly for now to catch back up.
“The list of those who are in need and those who want to donate has grown,” said Larry Hof, lead pastor of Faith Baptist Church north of Greenfield.
Now there’s another task for the volunteers: Moving the donation inventory from rented storage units to two recently purchased utility sheds on church grounds.
Several years ago, another local church helping coordinate the ministry no longer had access to the facility where it had stored donations.
In 2019 people of Faith Baptist, 1489 E. County Road 600N, agreed to become the church partnering with Love INC of Greater Hancock County on the ministry. Some volunteers from other churches also assist on delivery days.
Love INC — a network of local churches, ministries and volunteers — lists the furniture ministry as one of its “gap ministries” that fill a gap and meet a need in the community. People who need furniture or appliances, and those who have items to donate, call Love INC. It handles the list of donors awaiting pickup and neighbors awaiting items.
Erin Glover, part of the furniture crew, said some recent pickups and deliveries have aligned so an item is picked up from a donor and delivered to a recipient on the same day.
“There’s definitely some logistics on how we do things to make it more efficient for everybody,” Glover said.
For a while, Faith Baptist considered building a barn on its eight-acre site. Then church leaders learned the place they had in mind wouldn’t meet county standards regarding outbuildings and road frontage, and another possible place would be too close to the church building per Homeland Security standards.
Hof said two sheds recently purchased are 10×20 feet each, small enough to not require permits. While some donated items have already been brought directly there, soon the volunteers will clear out the storage units and transfer inventory to the sheds. A few items donated but never needed will be cleared out.
Hof said he grew to learn what the ministry could accept for donations and what would actually be used. Not every item offered is something another neighbor is likely to need.
“Love INC is very helpful in discerning those things for us,” he said. “That’s a great resource in Hancock County for us to partner with.”
A goal for this year is to create a live online inventory of what’s available, Hof said, so Love INC knows what’s available when someone calls with a request, and also knows what’s fully in stock in case someone offers another of the same item.
“We have a lot of people within our church who are very techie,” Glover said. “The labor is great, but the brain power is just as important.”
Debra Weber, executive director of Love INC, said the deliveries are meaningful to the people receiving items.
“An elderly lady was filled with gratitude after our furniture ministry team delivered a refrigerator to store her insulin,” Weber wrote in an email. “A landlord shared: ‘I am so happy for the good work that you all at Love INC do for our community. You have helped many with beds and furniture. We are blessed to have a program like Love INC in our county.’”
Glover said there’s good camaraderie among the group of volunteers as they work, and that it’s a blessing to not only connect people with furniture, but also encourage people and pray with them.
“We want to serve,” she said, “because that’s what we’re commanded to do.”
DONATING ITEMS
“We always need dressers, it seems, and we always need washers and dryers,” said Larry Hof, lead pastor of Faith Baptist Church. What’s not needed: fridges (the ministry already has several) and king-size beds (many don’t have room for those).
Those interested in donating, as well as those who have a need, can call Love INC at (317) 468-6300 or fill out an online contact form at https://lovinc-ghc.org/contact
