Project Angel Tree is well under way at First Baptist Belton. This Prison Fellowship program has been active in our area for many years and is coordinated through the J.A.I.L. (Jesus Acts in Inmates Lives) Ministry. The plan is simple; the rewards are great. Individuals from churches, schools, service clubs, organizations and businesses sponsor children of prison and jail inmates by providing gifts at Christmas.

For the past month, volunteers have been busy making contact by phone or letter with caretakers of these children to verify a delivery addresses and find out clothing sizes and wished for toys/fun items. They fill out angel tags, actually copying a message that the parent wants on the tag. Each child will have three tags, one for a clothing item, one for a toy/fun item, and one for a Gospel or Christian Gift. The gifts will be delivered to homes in the local area and shipped to children who live out of town or out of state.

In addition to sponsoring prison and Bell County Jail inmate’s children, this ministry has expanded to include a number of other groups. You may have the opportunity to purchase a special gift for a child in one of the groups. The 90 Jailer’s Kids, will be hosted by officers in the Sheriff’s Department to a party where the children receive one gift, that of a wished for toy or fun item, depending on the age of the child. Another group, CASA Kids, are given toys by local discount stores, but Angel Tree has been asked to give each child a gift that shares the love of Christ. The local Juvenile Correction Center currently houses 70 children ages 10 through 17 and the only gift they are allowed to receive is a book on Christmas morning; we are encouraging the purchase of inspirational and character building books. Three Head Start classes of 51 children are gifted with a warm outfit and a picture book. Also included are the residents of Tree House/Christian Farms and the boys at Post Country Care.

We are grateful to First Baptist and all of the churches, schools, service clubs, organizations and businesses that partner with us to see that each child has a merry Christmas.

For those who picked up an Angel Tag, the deadline for gifts is Sunday, December 7.

There is still time to get involved and volunteers are needed.

• Wrap and Pack Day is Thursday, December 11 starting at 9:00 a.m. in room 124.
  These are gifts that will be shipped all over the United States.
• Delivery Day is Saturday, December 20 starting at 9:00 a.m. in the old sanctuary
  A great family event is to make deliveries in Belton and Temple

Monetary donations are always welcome to purchase gifts for children who were not sponsored and for shipping charges (close to 100 boxes of gifts will be sipped). Checks can be made out to the church with Angel Tree on the memo line.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment below.  We will make sure to pass your message on to the Angel Tree leadership.