Fultondale youth deliver hope, baskets to CCU waiting rooms

In critical care unit (CCU) waiting rooms, families and individuals sit for long hours, “empty of emotions,” according to Dan Nichols, pastor of Walkers Chapel Baptist Church, Fultondale, in Birmingham Baptist Association.
  
So when a group of his church members — mostly youth — walks in with baskets full of necessities and goodies, “God uses us to give them hope,” he said.
  
One Sunday each month for more than three years, the church has delivered care baskets to families of CCU patients at Physicians Medical Center — Carraway in Birmingham.
  
Some senior adult women of Walkers Chapel Baptist began the ministry after a young man who grew up in the church was involved in a serious four-wheeler accident and was in a coma for 28 days. Someone from Campus Crusade for Christ brought a care basket for the family, which inspired members of Walkers Chapel to begin a basket ministry of their own.
  
The church’s Girls in Action and Acteens got involved with the basket ministry, and eventually the youth group took it on.
  
“The kids get such a blessing from it, and they look forward to it every month,” said Barbara Sistrunk, a Walkers Chapel member. She added that delivering the baskets gives the youth opportunities to pray with and witness to the families. 
  
Church members, Sunday School classes and local businesses donate money and supplies for the baskets, and Walkers Chapel member Sylvia Norton organizes the baskets’ assembly. She includes items such as snacks, water, gum, candy, tissues, combs, New Testaments, biblical material, paper, pens and other items families might need. 
  
Norton also includes information about Walkers Chapel. Several families have visited the church while in town, and many have sent thank-you notes to the church. “I pray while making the baskets,” she said. “Prayer is the most important part of this wonderful ministry.”
  
Norton’s 13-year-old son John said he enjoys helping lift the spirits of those in the waiting rooms. John has also gained confidence in sharing his faith.
  
“At the beginning, I was scared and wouldn’t talk that much when we went to visit,” he said. “Now I pray with them. I want them to feel like somebody cares.”
  
Eighteen-year-old Joe Embry said being involved in the basket ministry has helped him grow in his relationship with the Lord. 
  
“When we pray with them, we always ask for protection and healing,” he said. “It touches me as much as it helps them. It helps me speak to people from my heart. We offer support for people when they need it most, and we let them know God is always there, too.”
  
Nichols said the ministry has been instrumental in helping the youth learn to minister together and alongside other church members. 
  
According to him, the hospital has also been receptive to the ministry and is glad Walkers Chapel is helping meet emotional and spiritual needs. 
  
“Everyone involved benefits from the fact that our church is moving beyond the four walls and is actively ministering,” he said. “I think God has used this ministry in a great way. … This is a simple ministry — the kind any group or church could take on and make a difference.”