New York Church Launches Dual Mobile Ministry to Feed and Clothe Thousands in Need
A church in Buffalo, New York, is doing its part to ensure that the city's residents stay warm this winter. True Bethel Baptist Church launched its Shepard's Closet mobile clothing service last Tuesday, and consists of a roving bus stocked with free winter gear for local residents.
Shepard's Closet travels the city handing out warm coats, gloves, and scarves to anyone in need. During its run last week, the church gave away winter clothing to school children waiting at bus stops, and visited middle schools and homeless shelters.
"Each time we go out, our whole goal is to take care of a need," said Shepard's Closet project manager Cambridge Boyd to The Christian Post on Thursday. Recipients don't have to be homeless or unemployed.
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Boyd, an elder at True Bethel and one of the drivers for Shepard's Closet, says the mobile closet serves city residents regardless of economic status. " … It's a need thing. A quality of life thing for the whole of western New York."
True Bethel accepts donated clothing at its main campus located on East Ferry Street. "We've been blessed that so many people have donated that our shelves have been stocked. We're trying to get them empty again," says Boyd.
The church's mobile reach ministry began in June 2015 with the Bread of Heaven food truck, a service that distributes free meals throughout the city.
Last summer the food truck served nearly 6,000 meals to locals, Boyd estimates. Not long thereafter the church decided to expand its outreach with the mobile distribution of clothes.
"We got to brainstorming in the office one day and said, 'Why don't we do clothing?' And that's how the clothes truck came about," Boyd tells CP.
The bus for Shepard's Closet, which True Bethel purchased, was still in need of interior modifications when it hit Buffalo streets during its inaugural run two weeks ago. Refurbishment is ongoing as the mobile closet continues to crisscross the city. Plans to fit the interior with counter space and a new subfloor are in the works, explains Boyd.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Boyd says both the Shepard's Closet and Bread of Heaven buses will be in action simultaneously. "We'll be all over the city of Buffalo. This will be the first time the food truck and the clothes truck will be out at the same time." The caravan will serve the homeless, as well as visit nursing homes, bus stations, and Buffalo's Broadway Market, Boyd adds.
"This is the most rewarding project we've done at the church," he says. "To see the smiles on people's faces. To have a mother cry and say, 'I didn't know how I was going to get my son a brand new coat.' To see them smile and to see them know that people are caring — and we don't want anything back, other than [for them] to go and do something nice for somebody else. Our whole motto is to pass it on."
