Serving from the heart.

Do you know this man, Nathan King? If you don’t then you should! But as he comes in and serves from the heart throughout the week, you’ll have to seek him out. He moves quickly through the warehouse, getting orders from John, then heading out with a couple of “his guys” to deliver and/or pick up furnishings. There’s a lot more to it though, so read on to hear the full story of Nathan and his time with Fully Furnished Ministries.

Nathan got started with FFM in a very usual way—he showed up one Saturday morning to serve after hearing about it through his men’s discipleship group at Victory Church. At that time, he was mentoring young men, especially young men growing up with single moms and no fathers in their lives, through the ministry he started called For God's Purpose Ministry (FGPM). So he decided to bring those guys along and have them serve alongside him.

Nathan’s ministry, FGPM, continued to grow and expand as he sought to help men and youth in a variety of ways. (We encourage you to read about all that they do on their website: https://www.forgodspurposeministry.com/. ) These men come from all walks of life and are all ages, from young 20s to 60 years old! Nathan shares, “it doesn’t matter the age, if they’re older or younger. They come with the same problem of never having a father in their life.”

As his personal ministry expanded, his involvement with FFM expanded as well. He started bringing these guys out with him regularly on Saturdays and this grew into a day or two during the week. Now, this year, he’s coming out with 2-3 other guys on 4-5 mornings during the week! This has allowed our ministry to expand greatly to be able to go outside of our service area when absolutely necessary.

Nathan is one of our “backbone” volunteers—his selfless service to us and men in our communities is incredible and we are so thankful for him and the ministry he is doing.

I asked Nathan how we can be praying for him and the ministry he’s doing and he shared with me: “We used to have a house for these men that have nowhere to go—coming out of prison or homeless from other situations. We no longer have it but we are looking and praying for God to provide one for us.” Let’s join together and pray for Nathan and this ministry. May God use him greatly as he serves others and serves through Fully Furnished Ministries!

Catch a quick video of Nathan speaking with us here on our Facebook page.

Joy & Serving [impact with every interaction]

Many of you may know this wonderful man, Victor Reed. Victor has been volunteering with Fully Furnished for years and his impact is felt across the many interactions he has with people every week.

He started with our ministry by showing up on a Saturday to move some furniture — as many of you have done over the weeks, months and years. But he found his real niche in serving when he found out about the Restoration Team. Now for months and months, every Tuesday, Victor shows up and helps lead the team in bringing new life to furniture that is broken or worn down. Without a big commotion upon entering or leaving the warehouse, Victor quietly works. And without realizing, he brings Christ’s peace, love and joy.

Anyone there on a Tuesday knows Victor and sees Victor. And although they don’t hear much from Victor, they feel Victor. His steady commitment to serving each and every week, bad knees and all, reminds us all of the importance of giving back to others.

But Victor didn’t stop there — many months ago, he realized that his own church had a moving truck that sat idle a lot of days of the week. After permission from his church, he came to us and asked if we wanted to use it. Knowing our needs were growing beyond Saturdays, he offered to bring the truck over a couple of Fridays a month and drive it to any needed deliveries. And of course we said YES! And thank you!

Now that we have 2 of our own trucks, we shifted our days and Victor now brings it out a Saturday or two per month to give us a much needed third truck. Victor’s commitment to serving and willingness to create a partnership for us with his church is impacting more people than we will ever know. Every piece he helps restore will bring more joy and love to a family in need, showing how much others care for them, because of Christ’s love. Every time he brings that truck over and drives it, more and more families are able to be served and their lives will be forever changed as they step out of poverty and into a fuller life.

Take a few minutes and hear from Victor in this video. Hear about why he serves and finds joy in his weekly volunteering with FFM, and oh so much more. You don’t want to miss these 3 minutes of Victor and his nuggets of wisdom amidst a spirit of peace. Watch here.

If you’d like to volunteer, then we know we can find the perfect spot for you to serve using your specific gifts, talents and passions. Find out more here.

Recovering & Serving Simultaneously [impact with every interaction]

Meet Jeremy Mitchell (left) and TJ Burras (right). They work with His Way, a Christ-centered recovery program for men based in Huntsville, Alabama. As they expanded to Atlanta over the summer, we connected with them to see how we could partner together. And it turned out to be an incredible opportunity for impact at every interaction.

Our first step was bringing them items to furnish their recovery rooms. During their 6-month program, their duplexes house men for the first 30 days, where they have a daily regimen of recovery classes, Bible classes, counseling sessions, and afternoon work/serving. As we delivered beds, dressers and bedside tables to their new housing, we discovered another way to partner together. Their men needed a place to serve in the community as part of their recovery program.

These men now come to our warehouse twice a week to volunteer. Led by James West, they show up each time with great attitudes and a willingness to serve. The incredible part of this is, not only are they helping us and giving us free labor, we are watching them experience God’s healing in their lives as they serve the community in this way — doing something unselfish, and understanding their role in a connected community.

It’s also been a joy to watch James connecting with these men week after week. They look forward to the time they get to spend with him and they relish the minutes they sit together at the end of their shifts, as James pours into their hearts and lives. This is a rippling life impact as they recover and heal and reconnect with their wives and children, moms and dads, and others — building their lives back in a healthy way and God truly restoring their families and futures.

Join with us in praying for His Way ministry, the men in the program, their families, and that every hour they spend with FFM will help them in their journey of healing and wholeness in Christ.

If you know of an organization or church that may want to partner with us in giving, serving or bringing us families in need, please contact us here.