Meals. Shoes. Football. Haircuts. Prayer.
These were just a few things lavished on needy residents of Mobile during the Festival of Hope on Jan. 24.
More than 10,000 came through the gates of Ladd-Peebles Stadium to receive some much-needed basic life necessities and some spiritual help as well. About 50 local churches, including some of the largest and smallest Baptist churches in the Mobile area, came together with 30 community organizations to provide things from groceries to portraits to health screenings.
Tracey Fincher of First Baptist Church, North Mobile, in Saraland spent the day washing the feet of the needy and said she was greatly impacted by the experience.
“It gives you an opportunity to do something personally for them,” she said, noting that as she washed people’s feet, she was able to share Jesus with them. “We’re following Jesus’ example by washing their feet and showing them love. It’s a wonderful, humbling experience, and it’s as much a blessing for us as it is for them.”
Samaritan’s Feet provided 1,000 pairs of shoes. The shoes, along with the 720 haircuts given; 1,500 health screenings done; and 10,000 meals eaten, met the practical needs of the needy attendees. But the prayer tent helped meet their most important needs — the spiritual ones.
“They need prayer and they are thankful for it just as much as the free stuff,” said R.D. McGahagin of College Park Baptist Church, Mobile, who spent the day in the prayer tent. He said the people had various needs to be prayed for and one guy he met came specifically for salvation.
“After they get here, they see there actually is some love here that they have never experienced before,” McGahagin said.
The man he led to the Lord represents just one of the 250 decisions made for Christ during the festival and one of the 9,148 people who received prayer.
The festival was a partnership effort of Convoy of Hope and Joe Savage Ministries. Convoy of Hope worked out the logistics, and Joe Savage, an Alabamian and longtime minister to the NFL, used his sports connections to provide a family-fun environment.
At the festival, there were more than 75 athletes and coaches from the University of South Alabama in Mobile and the NFL to provide a children’s sports camp and NFL football experience. “We took my sports component with their compassion project to put together something pretty special for the impoverished of Mobile,” Savage said.
On their way out, attendees received one final blessing as they were handed bags of groceries.
“It’s just giving them that last attention before they go,” said Judd Williams, a retired missionary and member of Luke 4:18 Fellowship, Mobile. He said most people seemed to be thankful for the day. He received a number of hugs from attendees.
“I have a heart for them,” Williams said. “This is just a part of it. They need help and this is what we do.”
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