God’s Oasis of Love

OKLAHOMA CITY – On Aug. 3, 2019, the Voice of Hope Seventh-day Adventist Church held its first annual Community Expo. Spearheaded by the church’s health ministries department under the direction of Pamela Allen, the Expo served the needs of the community outside of the four walls of the church in tangible ways.

Held from 10 a.m.—2 p.m. under a huge white tent adjacent to the church, ministry teams shared the love of Jesus in a variety of ways. Terrell McCoy greeted the community attendees and was ever-present to offer prayer and encouragement to those in spiritual need.

Over 300 adults and children registered and proceeded to the health ministries booth where they enjoyed fresh fruit, healthy snack bars, health pamphlets and free blood pressure and wellness checks. Pediatric oral hygiene checks along with dental goody bags were provided. A representative from the Oklahoma City County Health Department shared smoking prevention and cessation information, health tips for children and lots of giveaways including fruit and veggie stress relief sponges, lunch bags and pencils.

Family magazines, legal pamphlets from the Oklahoma Law Association, Senior “Be Ready” bags and voter registration applications were available. Workforce professionals were on hand to share tips on getting a job as well as how to prepare for a successful interview. Children’s ministries and the education department joined forces and gave away backpacks filled with school supplies and a “Jesus Loves Me” button pinned on the pocket.

In addition to these fun-filled activities, the OKC Fire Department gave fire truck tours to kids and a coloring book with fire safety tips. Our friendly police officer also showed the children the inside of his police car. Men’s ministries sponsored free haircuts with the help of two generous barbers. Prayer and inspirational tracts were offered by the personal ministries team where many people signed up for Bible study. Our community services ministries team gave away an abundance of food and clothing. All in all, our entire church family was blessed to be “God’s Oasis of Love” to our community. We look forward to next year’s Community Expo!

By Beverly McCoy and Pamela Allen