Each February, Trinity school joins together with other congregations to raise money for the Hearts for Jesus compaign, benefiting an organization that serves to bring the word of God to remote and underserved areas of the world. This year, the Hearts for Jesus campaign supported Christian Outreach Foundation of Africa (COFA). Our students donated $1,097.61 to the mission.
COFA was selected by the Michigan District Lutheran Schools. The Hearts for Jesus campaigns began in 1972, when Lutheran elementary schools would combine their February chapel offerings and designate them for a specific ministry. In the years that followed, students donated more than $1.8 million.
Specific requirements are necessary to be a chose Hearts for Jesus mission. The ministry must allow children to minister to other children. There should be an educational aspect to the campaign, which might include learning about a different part of the world, the people who reside there and the customs they hold. The work of the organization must also further the Kingdom of Christ and supports ministry that holds to the salvation through Christ by faith alone.
The chapel offerings raised for COFA will provide students in St. Peter Christian College and Bethel Preparatory School in Mhluzi, South Africa with meals at school, often their only meal of the day, and a Christian education.
To encourage Trinity students to give, Catha Huff's third grade class passed out M&M tubes to Trinity students. They were to enjoy the M&M and fill the tube with quarters and return it to school. Huff said each tube holds $5 in quarters. The third graders reminded Trinity students to bring their M&M tubes back throughout the month. The school prayed for COFA during morning announcements and it was discussed during chapel. Students knew their donation would make a difference.
"It can be hard for our students to see how their small actions can make a big difference. Through things like Hearts for Jesus, we can illustrate how just a few quarters, combined with a their friends' quarters and the school's quarters and other schools' quarters can add up to a big amount. We focus on connection this year and this one project shows not only how we as a school are connected, but how we connect with other Michigan Lutheran schools and also schools around the world," said Huff.
To read more about Hearts for Jesus from the Michigan District, visit https://michigandistrict.org/schools/services/hearts-for-jesus/.