Mission Makers
Brought to you by: Community Partner www.ThomasWaters.com, 205-879-1988
“Our mission is to bring God’s grace to those less fortunate and when a person receiving a meal in the serving line said, ‘Thank you for bringing us the joy.’ I thought we had accomplished our goal. We brought much more than meal,” says Thomas Waters about the value of an evening volunteering at Changed Lives Christian Center (CLCC), www.cl-cc.org. Since October of 2014, every third Tuesday of the month, Waters with friends and members of his State Farm team arrive at the center with food for about 55 people to cook and serve to residents and homeless people in the area.
CLCC opened its doors in 2010 and, as the name implies, began a life-changing Christ-centered outreach to Birmingham’s homeless and poor. Since affiliating with The Foundry Ministries in 2014, CLCC serves as a pathway to independence for more than 175 men every year and provides essential care and services for the homeless from Birmingham’s streets. CLCC offers transitional housing for homeless men for up to two years as well as classes that teach life skills, job readiness, and spiritual development.
Waters says volunteering at CLCC was the result of a prompting he felt and read. “I felt a calling in my heart, but the book A Same Kind of Different as Me sealed my commitment. I cried uncontrollably after immersing myself in the book. It prompted me to answer the calling to help the folks in my community that cannot help themselves.” For those considering volunteering with CLCC or another ministry Waters says, “Try giving your money and time to those who need a lift and see what it does for you!”
-Laurie Stroud
