If your church is in a spot where preparing a weekly dinner feels like too big a task, First Baptist Church Semmes has an idea they’d recommend.
“We have four cooking teams — one for each week,” said church member Sandra Hillman. “My team is the first Wednesday of every month.”
Each team has four to six members, and on months with a fifth Wednesday, the men of the church cook.
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“It’s a big community effort,” Hillman said. “Even though it takes a lot of work to prepare a meal, you’ve got a month to recover before you do it again.”
They’ve been using this system for at least 15 years now, and they’ve seen great success with it. By shopping sales at grocery stores and trying to be frugal in other ways, Hillman said they’ve been able to keep the meal cost at $5 for those who eat there each week.
‘We make ends meet’
They’ve also been able to deliver to the homebound and offer meals free of charge for anyone who might not be able to pay.
“We make ends meet,” she said. “We don’t do it to make money — that’s not our goal at all.”
But if they do have any money left over after expenses, it is saved and used to pay for needed repairs around the church.
“We have replaced the blinds in the fellowship hall and replaced the blinds in the Sunday School rooms,” Hillman said.
They’ve also replaced kitchen appliances and ceiling tiles and painted the church’s kitchen.
“We’ve done a lot of good for the church with the little money we’ve saved every week,” she said. “It’s amazing how it builds and God blesses it and it keeps going.”
Pastor Eric Sexton said the church’s cooking teams are “a great way for different people in the church to serve.”
“These teams have been successful at integrating people from different ages and backgrounds,” he said. “In addition, these meals bless those who attend on Wednesdays and the ones who are homebound.”
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