An idea born of one man’s “wrestling” with God has grown into a thriving ministry that feeds more than 200 people each week.
Pictured, from left: Keith Herring, Jim Kirkland and Dupree Atkinson. Atkinson presented the 2009 Greater Mulllins Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award to the Beacon Ministry Soup Kitchen at Mullins First Baptist Church.In April 2009, Keith Herring approached his pastor, Jim Kirkland, with an idea for First Baptist Church of Mullins. “I’ve been wrestling with this thing for over a year, and God just will not let me get away from it,” Herring told his pastor. “Our community is hurting economically. We need to help. I believe God wants us to feed people.”
With his pastor’s support, Herring took the idea to his fellow deacons, who unanimously approved moving forward. A team of church members was organized. The Beacon Ministry Soup Kitchen doors opened in mid-July. On the first day, 25 people were served a bowl of soup, sandwiches, fruit and tea. (Dessert later was added to the menu.) What was to be a once-a-month ministry quickly became a weekly event.
Today, more than 200 people are served every week, including homebound members of several churches in the community. The soup kitchen has served more than 5,000 meals to date.
The ministry operates strictly on donations, which allows the team to buy food from the Harvest Hope Food Bank in Florence at minimal cost. It has become a community ministry as people, businesses and civic organizations donate food items and money. In January, church members gathered coats and other cold-weather gear and opened an auxiliary ministry to distribute coats, blankets and clothes to those in need.
Herring’s report to the deacons each month goes something like this: “There is money in the bank, food in the freezers, and people are getting fed.” And there has not been a single drive for food or donations, only one call for volunteers. “When you are in God’s will, God provides,” said Kirkland.
On Feb. 1, Herring and Kirkland received the 2009 Greater Mullins Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award for the Beacon Ministry Soup Kitchen. “While we do the soup kitchen in obedience to God, we are grateful for the affirmation and community support shown by this award,” Kirkland said.