Members of Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., shop with community residents as part of the Dame Christmas Memorial ministry.

ATLANTA – In Little Rock, Ark., it’s Christmas shoes and clothes. In Murfreesboro, Tenn., it’s a Christmas meal. In both places, it’s Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches meeting community needs at Christmas.

For nearly 90 needy children in Little Rock, Second Baptist Church buys clothes, shoes and coats. First Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, hosts a Christmas party for more than 125 area domestic violence victims.

Second Baptist Church’s Dame Christmas Memorial purchased $7,500 in clothes and other necessities for needy children last Christmas. Started in 1982, the ministry is sustained by the charitable trust of the late George Dame. In the 1920s, the church provided much-needed shoes for Dame and food for his family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dame later became a federal government employee who invested wisely, according to his brother.

The church selects children from applications submitted by local school counselors.

The applications are collected by a team of lay volunteers who assess the information and try to, "in a fair and balanced way, select as many children as possible," said James Thomason, the church’s minister to senior adults.

Church volunteers meet the family at a local department store, purchasing clothes for children 15 years old and younger. "There are big shopping carts piled and piled

with clothes they love," said ministry co-chair Stasia Burk. "The kids are just so excited and the families are very grateful."

The church also supplies each family with a food box.

First Baptist Murfreesboro’s involvement started in 2000 when its local domestic violence center asked to use the church’s facility for its annual Christmas party. When lay ministry coordinator Kristina Brown asked how the church could provide further assistance, the center staff members "were actually stunned," she said. Brown and the church’s lay ministry team ensured that all the food, volunteers and decorations were provided.

"I have been so pleased with the outpouring of love from our church folks," Brown said. "They have a real heart for helping others in need — especially those that are hurting."

Now in its fifth year with more than 40 church volunteers and numerous others who contribute food and money, the event includes a full meal with holiday music, a free family portrait donated by a local photographer, a visit by Santa Claus, and a time for families to open gifts donated by area businesses. At the end of the party, volunteers distribute the remaining food among families.

"The party provides a safe haven and a relief from some stress financially and emotionally," said church member Kippy Todd, who has volunteered each year.

For more information about First Baptist Murfreesboro’s involvement, contact Kristina Brown at (615) 893-2514 or kbrown@fbcmboro.org. For details about the ministry at Second Baptist, contact James Thomason at (501) 374-9284 or jthomason@2bclr.com.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.