For inmates’ families in western Pennsylvania, Christmas is a little brighter because of God’s work through South Hills Assembly, a congregation that has been doing Angel Tree ministry for 20 years.
The Angel Tree program as South Hills Assembly started with Clarence McMillan, an elderly member who “really had a heart for prisoners,” according to Pastor Rick Kardell, who coordinates the Angel Tree program there. Clarence formed a team at the church that still makes weekly visits to the local jail, and Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program enabled South Hills to show Christ’s love to their families, as well. Both ministries have continued as a legacy of grace, even after Clarence passed away a few years ago.
South Hills Assembly used to do a large Angel Tree Christmas party with a big turkey dinner, but through a process or trial and error they found that home deliveries work best for the population they serve. In addition to gifts for the children, they drop off tins of homemade cookies and toiletry kits for the caregivers. They also share the Good News.
“We love sharing the Gospel. Our people are givers,” says Pastor Rick. “Many times, that’s the only gift those kids are getting.”
Through home deliveries, Pastor Rick and the other volunteers build trust with inmates’ families.
A few years ago, Rick got a call from the mother of a young Angel Tree boy. She had just moved, and she didn’t have a stove or a refrigerator. She couldn’t afford to buy them, but she had an immediate need to prepare food for herself and her growing boy. She was desperate.
Rick told her, “Let’s pray that God will provide.”
As soon as he hung up the phone, he got a call from a woman and her brother. They had been Angel Tree kids years ago, and they wanted to give back. Rick told them about the need for kitchen appliances, and between their gift, the church’s generosity, and help from the child’s school, the inmate’s family received a refrigerator and a stove!
That incident opened doors for further ministry to the inmate’s family. Later on, the mother and child attended evangelistic Alpha Course dinners put on by South Hills Assembly.
Pastor Rick encourages other church leaders to get involved in effective ministry to inmates families at Christmas and beyond.
“If you’re not doing anything to help somebody that needs help at Christmastime, then this is really, really a good thing,” he says. “It not only helps them, but it helps your people pull together and do something for the Lord. You’re spreading the Gospel. … As prisoners, there is nothing they can do to provide gifts for their children. [Angel Tree is] a way to show Christian love.”