Explanation From The Church In Regards To "A Gift From Ben" Posted On The Church's WebsiteJCCC Discontinues Food Pantry, "A Gift From Ben"(07/03/04)

The James City Community Church Leadership (JCCC Leadership) wants the community to know the thought process involved in deciding to discontinue the joint venture we have had with the not for profit venture "A gift from Ben" or what we have called the "Food Pantry Ministry".

The JCCC Leadership has been in the process of planning for the future of our church. This process has involved revisiting our Mission, Vision, Purpose and Target. The process also included evaluating all of our ministries and preparing our budget.

In the process of evaluating our ministries we sought answers to the following questions:

• Is the Ministry Leader an active member of James City Community Church? (willing to abide by the membership covenant)

• Does the ministry fulfill one of the five purposes of the Church (worship, fellowship, discipleship, service and sharing the "good news")?

• Does the ministry help James City Community Church reach its target or does it hinder our ability to reach the target? (A good picture of our target would probably be your neighbor that may not attend church.)

• Is this the best use of the space and resources that God has given us?

Based on the answers to these questions we decided to change and refocus our efforts in a number of ministries. We hope to place more energy, effort, focus and money into our nursery, children and youth ministries. We have suspended the Coffeehouse and Food Pantry Ministry until each of the questions can be answered affirmatively.

The Life Development Team,
Sam and Myra Goins
Mike and Lynda Cooke
Lee and Doreen Deskins
Terry and Susan Patterson
Butch and Marilou Rock
Ryan and Shannon Scott
Casey Sloterbeck
Bruce and Maryann West