We received a letter from Angel Tree Ministries early in the season, sharing the opportunity to give to children whose parents are incarcerated.
I’ve heard of Angel Tree for years; have seen the huge Christmas tree displays in the malls at the holidays, filled from top to button with paper angels containing a child’s name.
Despite my complacent familiarity, that letter moved me nearly to tears. I guess for the first time, I really saw faces and names of children in need.
As a pastor’s wife, I’ve seen first hand the despair, pain, and dysfunction of children whose parents are in-and-out of prisons and half-way houses. It breaks my heart to see little ones hurting, especially at the hands of the very ones who should protect them.
Angel Tree, a ministry of Prison Fellowship, reaches out to these children at Christmas time with the love of Jesus.
Angel Tree is the largest national ministry to reach out to the children of inmates and their families with the love of Christ. By connecting incarcerated parents with their children through the delivery of gifts at Christmas, you help brighten the lives of hundreds of thousands of children. Your support shares with these kids a message of love from their parents and the true meaning of Christmas — the Good News of Jesus Christ.
——————————————————————————————-
How Angel Tree Works, and How You Can Get Involved
An Angel Tree Christmas connects incarcerated parents with their children through the delivery of Christmas gifts.
Your support makes it possible for local churches to deliver gifts and the Gospel to children in the name of their incarcerated parent. Many churches annually commit to serving prisoners’ families through Angel Tree .
For those children who live in an area not served by a participating Angel Tree church, your gift delivers the presents and the Gospel right to their door.
Angel Tree Christmas begins with you and the support of local churches.. Angel Tree provides volunteer church coordinators with a list of children for their congregation to serve. The coordinators contact the childrens’ guardians and arrange what gifts are to be purchased, and when they can be delivered. Church members then voluntarily choose the name of the children for whom they will be buying gifts.
—————————————————————————–
This year, our family is supporting Angel Tree. Even our children have gotten involved, digging into the money they’ve carefully saved throughout the year… in order to share the love of Jesus with a little child who is hurting.
The Lord has blessed this blog in recent months, and part of the earnings I’ve received through sponsors, ebook sales, and affiliate earnings has been designated toward missions and ministry support- including Angel Tree.
If you are able, I encourage you to consider giving to Angel Tree- to children, with faces, names, and needs.
Let’s share Christ this Christmas. Any and every way we can.
