Benevolence ministries come naturally for churches and associations, but questions always arise about how to know for sure the person needing help is not attempting to scam those willing to help.
This is certainly not a new concern, but there is now a new protection available — an online service called CharityTracker.
Former Alabama Baptist youth minister Greg Hammond and former youth and worship leader Larry LaBarge from Vermont created the service through their Florence-based software development firm Simon Solutions.
An asset to churches
“Our heart at Simon Solutions is to help the body of Christ connect, to bring the body of Christ together,” Hammond told the Alabama Network of Christian Community Ministers (CCM) meeting Nov. 12 in Mobile.
CharityTracker allows benevolence organizations to join online networks in order to track people who move from group to group requesting the same resources.
Most networks are made up of groups within a specific region or community, the first being in the Florence area.
Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association is one of those in the Florence-area network.
“The Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association has been using the program for the last year and it has been very helpful for our association and our churches,” Colbert-Lauderdale Association Director of Missions Eddy Garner stated in a recommendation letter for CharityTracker. “The information has been an asset in aiding our churches in their ministry to those who are in need.”
For more information, visit www.charitytracker.net.
The CCM group also heard from Jamey Pruett, an associate in the office of associational missions and church planting at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM). With Richard Alford’s retirement earlier this year, Pruett is the group’s new SBOM liaison.
Pruett announced that Gena Heatherly, literacy missions specialist with the SBOM since 2001, will now have the SBOM’s Christian community ministries work added to her job description. “Literacy missions has exploded because it was handed off and someone ran with it,” Pruett said. “I see the same with CCM work.”
In other business, new officers were elected:
President, Virginia Alexander of Morgan Baptist Association; first vice president, Linda Pair of Birmingham Baptist Association; second vice president, Fred Cook of Columbia Baptist Association; secretary, Lisa Chilson-Rose of Montgomery Baptist Association; and treasurer, Keith Brown of Shelby Baptist Association.
Rob Peavy of Madison Baptist Association served as president of this year’s CCM. (TAB)
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