Lineman Jason Tumblin paid forward $500 to Love1 Ministries at Woodruff Church of God.
Pastor Jason Tucker, or “Tuck” as he is referred to by friends and family, is the Founder and Director of the student ministry focusing on 7th grade through college-age teenagers and young adults.
The mission of Love1 ministries is “to bring the hope of the Gospel to communities with instruction to ‘Love 1 God, Love 1 Another, and Love 1.’”
They hold weekly services on Wednesday nights starting at 6:30 p.m. with an average attendance of 50-80 children.
Tuck pointed out, “85% of those kids live in Section 8 housing. We run a bus ministry that picks them up, so they have an opportunity to hear the word of God. Once they arrive, we have food and drinks available every week. During the holiday season we try to provide a meal that many may not otherwise receive.”
He adds, “Love1 student ministries runs because of our members and folks like Laurens Electric. Our ministry does not receive any money from our church. We function on gifts from our members, fundraisers, and organizations like yours. We spend between $300-500 monthly to feed our young people, bringing our yearly average to $3000 just on meals.”
“Our sanctuary will be decorated for the season. We will be cooking our own turkeys (donated), and we will use some of your donation for sides such as green beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, etc. We will do the same at Christmas but instead of turkey we’ll have ham.”
Jason says, “I grew up with Tuck who is the Youth Pastor at our church. A lot of the kids don’t get to enjoy the full spread of a big holiday meal, and I know it’s something they don’t take for granted.”
To find out more about Love1 Ministries, visit their web site at love1ministries.com, and watch their Wednesday night service at facebook.com/Love1studentministries.
Laurens Electric’s Pay It Forward program, begun in 2015, was born out of a desire to continue the good work of the 75 Acts of Kindness community initiative.
Every Laurens Electric Cooperative employee is entered into a random drawing to receive $500 to pay forward in any way they choose. Each month a new name is drawn, and the employee then has one month to apply the funds toward their own act of kindness.
This initiative is budget-neutral; the funds come from Laurens Electric’s charity events, which employee volunteers make possible.