PUBLISHED JUNE 23, 2016
City Life Church partners with food bank, local police to benefit those in need
By ANDREA SHAY
ANDREA SHAY PHOTOS
A typical Tuesday night dinner served by City Life Church for families in need.
Every Tuesday, people gather from miles around for dinner at City Life Church. Along with assistance from volunteers, local food pantries and other donors, City Life hosts a free community dinner to anyone who would like a meal.
Just before dinner, Outreach Pastor Brandon Mitchell delivers a “street sermon.”
City Life doesn’t ask those who show up to meet any specific criteria or fill out any forms other than to sign their names on a piece of paper, so the church can track how many people they serve. The church partners with the Manatee County Food Bank to provide their Tuesday night dinners, and they also get weekly food donations from Panera Bread and local 7-Eleven stores.
According to Lead Pastor Brian Royer, the Tuesday night community dinner got its start when a youth group from another church wanted to feed the hungry using City Life’s spacious parking lot. City Life agreed on the condition that they be allowed to help.
The first dinner was held with “just a handful of people and a limited amount of food like corn, mashed potatoes and chicken from Publix,” said Royer. “It kept going every week. It really took off. Within two months we had over 200 people show[ing] up.”
Local families enjoy the new basketball court.
They help a lot of working families, says one of the volunteers, who said he sees a lot of migrant workers and single parents with children coming to the dinners, along with others who simply find themselves in hard financial times.
The volunteers and City Life’s staff are proud of the food they serve, and some volunteers may be cooking and preparing food in the church’s small kitchen from 9 a.m. until 7 or 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. “We wouldn’t serve anything that we wouldn’t eat ourselves,” said both the pastors and volunteers, explaining that they offer a high-quality full-course meal. In the past, they’ve served ribs, chicken and steak along with vegetables and dessert.
In addition to the Tuesday night meal, City Life has also worked with the Bradenton Police Department to create a community basketball court across the street from the church. The entire endeavor took about 14 months, but City Life’s pastors say it was worth the wait.
Volunteers spend all day preparing food in the church’s small kitchen.
Now the court sees activity regularly. “Kids in the neighborhood use it,” said Outreach Pastor Brandon Mitchell. “A coach even brought his basketball team over to practice.”
The police funds paid for the installation of the goal posts and rims and the cost of getting the court’s lines painted, while Home Depot donated the paint, and the church paid to have the lot repaved.
City Life also offers several other programs and activities to benefit the community. They have one program that gives free strollers to moms in need, and they also provide free haircuts to the community once about every three to four months.
If you or someone you know is in need or you would like to make a contribution or learn more about City Life Church, contact Mitchell at brandon@citylifechurchbradenton.com, or call 941-749-0288.
Folks line up while volunteers serve food and drinks.
