Community Outreach
Main Street Baptist Church participates in serving the local community by housing a C.H.O.W. pantry, a bi-monthly Soup Kitchen, as well as a clothing bank. Read below for information on these ministries.
Our ABWM and Missions Committee each select monthly projects to promote and support to raise awareness and generate financial contribution to the project.
Other outreach, such as deliveries to shut-ins, hospital visits, and support of mission organizations is performed by our various committees, and lay minister.
Main Street Baptist Church also encourages its members to reach out to others through personal Missions service.
We hope you are already praying for the situation in Haiti. But if you are looking to help financially, yet don't know how to go about it, here is some helpful information.
Main Street Baptist Church is linking up with One Great Hour of Sharing offering... There is no overhead, all funds go directly to relief. It is one of the easiest ways to ensure your money will quickly get to where it is needed. They've already sent thousands in donations to immediate relief and are issuing it as it comes in. For up to date information on what International Ministries is doing, visit their website http://www.internationalministries.org/
To help financially, send a check made out to Main Street Baptist Church, memo it "One Great Hour of Sharing- Haiti" and it will go directly to aid. Please continue to remember your earthly brothers and sisters in prayer.
- CHOW, the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse of the Broome County Council of Churches, offers food assistance to individuals and families in Broome County.
- To read more about Broome County Council of Churches CHOW program, click here... CHOW program
The C.H.O.W. program at Main Street Baptist Church has been in operation about 13 years. It is open 10 AM to 12 noon, the last two Tuesdays and the last two Fridays of each month, by referral only. (Referrals are made through the Broome County Council of Churches.) It serves approximately 35 individuals each month. Main Street Baptist staffs 12 volunteers, serving different days. There is a clothing bank available to the clients to browse and take what they can use.
The church Clothing bank is open to the community during CHOW hours and during Saturday Soup, and is always open to our own church body. The clothes are donated by various members of the church body and are monitored to ensure they are clean and in good condition. People coming for CHOW have expressed their thanks to Main Street Baptist for offering these quality items for free. To donate clean, seasonal, good condition clothing, please bring your items to the coat room and leave them in the box marked "clothing bank".
Our Christian Crafters group has been hand knitting socks, hats, and mittens during the winter months to donate to the clothing bank to help keep our community nice and warm in the cold winters of Binghamton!
The Soup Kitchen is run internally by volunteer staff, to help meet immediate hunger needs in our community. It runs the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, and the numbers of people coming out for a hot meal is growing each time. The soup is all home made that day; bread and pastries are donated by Panera Bread in Vestal, and other items are supplied by the church members. People are welcomed with open arms to come in and rest, and be served as many times as they wish until they leave full and satisfied, and even then usually depart with a bag of clothing from the clothing bank, and another full meal packed to go! There is a growing need as unemployment in our community rises. The Soup Kitchen could use your help to staff the soup kitchen. Please call the church if you feel led to help.