JACKSONVILLE–Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier each year. With Christmas day less than two weeks away, two Florida Baptist churches got a jump on the gift-giving and celebrated an early Christmas in August.
Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand checked its Christmas list, gathered together its stash of Christmas gifts, and made a special joy-filled delivery–minus the sleigh–to Refuge Church in Jacksonville.
Christmas in August, a gift-giving experience launched by the national Woman’s Missionary Union in 1950, is a way for Southern Baptist churches to connect with North American Mission Board missionaries, offering tangible support, prayers and encouragement.
Serena Butler, who leads Adults on Mission at Stetson Baptist Church, knows what it means to receive Christmas in August gifts. At one time, she served as a North American missionary on a local college campus, saying, “We were the recipients of Christmas in August, so I have some experience of being on the receiving end of Christmas in August.”
She wanted to translate that experience of receiving gifts to giving gifts, and she wanted her entire church to become involved personally. Rather than gathering gifts and shipping them to a missionary far away, Butler intentionally led her church to select a missionary close enough for a personal delivery so that participants could have an opportunity “to meet the missionary, hear about the ministry and pray with the missionary.”
This year, Stetson Baptist Church set out to share its Christmas gifts with Seek Refuge, the foster and adoptive ministry at Refuge Church. Pastor Josh Glymph and his wife, Beth, launched Refuge Church in 2020, with the Seek Refuge ministry one of the first outreach avenues of the new congregation.
Through this ministry, Refuge Church strives to provide resources, guidance and support to foster and adoptive families. The church helps meet practical needs through offering whatever items a family might need, from clothing to diapers to toys, while also meeting spiritual needs and sharing the gospel. The ministry hosts therapy nights for foster and adoptive parents to speak with Christian counselors about family challenges, and it even offers childcare so that parents can enjoy date nights.
Glymph credits his wife, Beth, for being the catalyst to launch the ministry and also the driving force to keep the ministry going. After all, the couple has personal experience in fostering and adopting. The Glymph family includes two biological children and three adopted children. The Glymphs also have fostered numerous children through the years.
In many ways, the couple believes that God is using their personal foster and adoptive journey to help build witnessing relationships with other families on similar journeys.
“People here who were fostering and adopting said, ‘Hey, there’s a family that’s doing what we’re doing. That pastor’s family looks just like ours,’” Glymph said. “And that’s how the Lord began to build this church.”
A significant percentage of the people now attending Refuge Church are from fostering or adoptive families.
With its Christmas in August gifts, Stetson Baptist Church became part of the life-changing Seek Refuge ministry, delivering more than 3,000 diapers, wipes, toys and clothes for infants and young children, as well as gift cards.
Glymph said that receiving Christmas in August gifts from not only Stetson Baptist Church but also from hundreds of other Southern Baptist churches through the country reminds him, “We’re not alone, and we are doing this together.”
Making the special delivery personally was the bow on the Christmas gift for Butler.
“It is such an honor and privilege to partner with one of our fellow Florida Baptist churches to share the love of Christ with families,” she said.
As for next year? Mark your calendar. Christmas will come early again.