At Crosspoint Ministries in Beebe, the huge crosses out front, practically on U.S. 64, mark the site of something important going on within: Food, clothing and love are being dispensed to those who need them.
A main ministry of the church, at 805 U.S. 64 W., is its food pantry.
“This is an important ministry for our church,” organizer Janet Hines said. “We felt a calling from God to establish this pantry. We began this in 2005. God has blessed us tremendously with the resources we need. We purchase food from the Arkansas Food Bank at a very low cost, but still, when you are buying that much food, it adds up. We also pick up donations from Walmart three days a week. They are a very generous company,” she said.
“Our pantry is open the first Saturday of every month. We spend all month gathering food to give out this one huge day. We serve approximately
360 families every month, which equates to approximately 1,100 people,” Hines said.
A devotional is held but is not mandated as part of receiving the food, she said.
“Most love the singing, and they sing right along,” Hines said. “The pastor, Bo Hines, lets anyone that wants to sing a solo. These people otherwise would never have that opportunity. Most love to hear our pastor’s message, and some preach right along with him.”
There are no income requirements or other criteria required of those who receive the food.
“But we ask one box per household, please,” Hines said. “They sometimes come a long way [for the food]. We always have people from Bald Knob, Lonoke, Conway. We give to anyone [who is here]. However, you could receive an additional bag of food from [the U.S. Department of Agriculture] if you qualify. First of all, you must live in White County to get this USDA food. Then you must show a picture ID and income statement to see if you qualify, but that is only for the USDA bag, and we have limited quantities on that,” she said.
“We have a crew of six to eight people that work three days a week picking up, sorting and organizing the food. They are primarily retired people. They are a godsend for me,” Hines said.
“We try to give as much quality food as we can. There are usually two dry bags with canned goods, cereal, soups, pasta, snacks and bread; one bag with meat and frozen items, such as frozen dinners, vegetables and breakfast items; one bag with refrigerator items, which are usually yogurt, juice, fresh vegetables and eggs, when we can get them; and one bag of drinks, such as Cokes, juice or water. Pretty much every month, every bit of food is given away,” Hines said.
“It’s really a special day for us to see so many hungry, and not only for food. We get to give a small portion of hope to them. We try to remember that we represent Jesus to them. We can only hope we make a small difference for someone that day. … We walk away more blessed than those receiving the food,” she said.
The church also also puts together a few Christmas baskets — 10 to 15 — each year, and each basket includes the makings of a Christmas dinner, Hines said.
“These will be delivered to local families chosen by our food pantry,” she said. “The food pantry will supply the meat, and families from our church will supply everything else.
“We usually only get positive feedback. People are very grateful for our donation. Some say they couldn’t make it without our food. For the most part, this is the only time they are inside a church. We want to show them the love of Jesus.”
Another outreach ministry of the church is its day care, called Cross Kids.
“We have an average of 50 kids enrolled,” Hines said. “We love to teach these babies about the love of Jesus.
“We also have a clothing closet. We are so blessed with the donations we receive. Our primary supplier is Rhea Lana. She has consignment sales, and people choose to donate their leftover clothing that does not sell. They are always clean, nice clothes and toys. Rhea Lana has been so generous to our clothing closet. We also have some drop-off donations.
“God always supplies our needs. … As many people as we serve, everything is needed.”