Top 20 of 2020

Yes, yes… we know that February is almost over. But it is never too late to look back at God’s goodness and provision in the past, is it?!?

Despite the pandemic in our world last year (or because of it?!), we absolutely saw our God at work through Love INC and our partner churches. Take a look at our “Top 20 of 2020” list and celebrate God’s goodness with us!

Our Neighbors & Churches
  • Love INC of Lake County connected over 460 individual volunteers from 60 different churches to those in need in our community, despite operations being shut down for 2.5 months
  • Our churches served over 350 families, with 790+ instances of direct assistance and over 800 referrals for assistance to other agencies, despite operations being closed for 2.5 months
  • We raised visibility of Love INC within the Lake County Human Services Community by connecting our partner churches’ resources directly to other agencies during the pandemic
  • We pivoted to a remote intake process, so volunteers from our partner churches could continue to hear our neighbors’ stories and provide resources during the pandemic shutdown
  • We connected two New Hope Ministry graduates with new-to-them cars to help them get to their jobs and take care of their families
  • More church volunteer teams stepped up to deliver Household Starter Kits consistently each week, reducing wait time for Household Starter Kits to less than four weeks, rather than multiple months
  • Through dedication from our volunteer intake ministers, we reduced our intake conversation time-to-completion of neighbor referrals down to about 2 weeks, from almost 2 months
  • Partner churches hosted drives that provided ~$20,000 worth of paper goods, *new* pillows, blankets & sheets, warm winter clothing, and more to allow our volunteers to minister to our neighbors in tangible ways
  • Over 175 Thanksgiving and Christmas meals were delivered to Love INC families by 50 volunteers from 8 churches, sharing food for the soul along with food for the body
  • Lakeland Church conducted our first ever Christmas Tree lot to bless our New Hope Ministry participants and others in our community
Loved Twice Thrift Boutique
  • Loved Twice reopened following all the CDC guidelines to provide hope, happiness, empathy, Christ’s love and quality items at reasonable prices to regular, as well as many new, customers during a trying year. Loved Twice brought joy and cheer not just to our customers, but to all the volunteers who have the pleasure of serving the Lord in obedience.
  • “God-sightings” every week at Loved Twice… from providing a pair of work boots or a wedding dress in just the right size, to our ‘regular’ customers coming in specifically for prayer, and more
  • Loved Twice was on the radio! The 102.3XLC morning show gave us the exciting opportunity to share our story throughout Lake County. Claudia did great!
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Making Virtual Connections
  • We pivoted to virtual training for our Bridges out of Poverty and New Hope Equipping workshops, including welcoming neighbors becoming volunteers!
  • We opened relationships with new church partners, particularly within the North Shore Baptist Ministers’ Alliance
  • Under the leadership of our Clearinghouse Coordinator Sherral, the Clearinghouse connects more directly and productively with referring agencies and case managers
  • You supported our tremendously successful “No Show” fundraiser in October, raising more funds for the ministry than ever before
‘Behind the Scenes’ Wins
  • We made significant enhancements to our database, simplifying and streamlining for the benefit of our volunteers and making staff data-mining easier and more accurate
  • Our community partner, YouthBuild Lake County, completed build-out of new office space to accommodate growing numbers of volunteers and create a multi-function meeting room, offering private meeting space to coaching sessions with neighbors
  • Through funds from generous church partners, we acquired a new-to-us delivery truck, “Share” (who joins “Sonny”), providing a safe, reliable truck with a working lift for the benefit of our church delivery teams.
These are just 20 examples of how God is blessing the ministries of Love INC’s partner churches. Check out our past stories for more. Even better, reach out to us! We’d love to come to your church for a Love INC Sunday or to meet your Missions Team to share more stories and share how your church can grow deeper in service through Love INC.