By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
In Jeff Logan’s eyes, they fell a little short of what they normally like to do.
But when their gift came in, Steve Sellers wept.
Valley Grove Baptist Church, Remlap, where Logan serves as pastor, has given faithfully to the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH) for years, but this year was a little different.
In summer 2016, the church lost its building to arson.
“They’ve been in the process of rebuilding,” said Sellers, church relations manager for ABCH.
In recent months, Carpenters for Christ and others have worked to get the church back in a new facility. In June, they dedicated the cross on top of the new sanctuary.
“I used to be in the insurance business and I know that probably most churches are underinsured,” Sellers said.
So for the people of Valley Grove Baptist to dig deep in their pockets at a time like this was sacrificial and touching, he said. “They are a very loving church.”
The church, part of Blount Baptist Association, is hoping to be back in its own building in early 2018. They’ve been meeting at another church in the area ever since the fire.
But they haven’t forgotten who they are or what they’re about, Logan said.
“You can’t out-give the Lord,” he said. “He always blesses beyond what we can even imagine.”
Soon after Logan first met Jesus, he went with a group to tour the ABCH facility in Troy.
That visit stuck with him.
“I’ve tried to encourage every church I’ve been a part of to contribute,” he said.
So at Valley Grove, every week they do a penny march — children hold buckets, and others march with their offering to the front of the church to deposit them there.
Then every year, someone takes the offering total to the ABCH Christmas open house in Decatur.
“They’ve been faithful to give substantially to the Children’s Home,” Sellers said.
Logan said it just makes sense. “It’s a great ministry,” he said.
He’s watched over the years as children have grown up through ABCH and even gone back to be house parents for the next generation.
“I think the Lord holds a special place in his heart for children and we want to do the same,” he said. “I feel like the money is used for a great cause to help those children have a chance in life they wouldn’t normally get, and our church wants to be a part of that.”
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