Congregants and church leaders at Moncton Wesleyan Church in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, wanted to bless an area homeless shelter and they did just that right before Christmas.
In the span of several Sundays in December, the church raised $109,000 to give to Harvest House Atlantic, a homeless shelter located in Moncton.
Rev. Joel Gorveatte, lead pastor at Moncton Wesleyan, said that after the final offering had been collected, more money was received — taking the total to more than $109,000. Each Sunday of Advent included a short focus on homelessness in conjunction with the offering being collected.
“Everything we do is marked by this purpose statement: ‘God’s love, in us, to the world … BECAUSE love changes everything.’ Our people are fired up about the mission of Jesus and our small groups are out serving on the streets of our community,” said Rev. Gorveatte. “Our vision is to become the largest volunteer mobilization force our city has ever seen, so that Christ’s love is manifested in very tangible ways.”
Rev. Peter Moore, district superintendent for the Atlantic District of The Wesleyan Church, is proud of Moncton Wesleyan and its leadership in how they serve outside its walls.
“The contextual effectiveness of Pastor Joel’s vision for the Moncton region is creating a fresh wave of kingdom inspiration!” said Moore. “I’m proud to call him my pastor.”
Moncton Wesleyan and Harvest house have had a long-standing relationship, as many Moncton small groups and church members volunteer there regularly.
Learn more in an interview with a local news station.
