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.

Not Just Any Group [impact with every interaction]

What a group! This group of 20-25 men are truly making an impact with every interaction they make at FFM…with one another, with volunteers, with recipient families, and even with our checking account! And here’s how:

Every Wednesday night, this awesome group of men, mostly from Victory Church, come together at our FFM warehouse to share food, fellowship and studying of the Word. Yep, they use our space, and no, we don’t just do that for any and every Bible study group. BUT these guys are not just any group.

The last Saturday or every month, this group of men come out and serve our families. They show up at 7:30am and load up, drive out and deliver much needed furnishings to families all over town. They follow this with picking up items from donors, taking them back to the warehouse and unloading. By 12:30/1pm they leave having made a huge impact.

But they don’t stop there. They worked out a cool partnership with another ministry they volunteer through, to provide us with incredible food boxes for that Saturday. So, they show up that day with food boxes in hand to bless those 4-6 recipient families for that day. We don’t usually provide food to anyone, but these guys wanted to surprise those families on their serve Saturday with this extra blessing of love and provision from the Lord. And those food boxes are making a huge impact.

But they don’t stop there. As a group, they collect funds and put them into one pot to divide among different community causes, needs and ministries. They agreed as a group to commit, and have been giving to Fully Furnished Ministries, a monthly financial contribution. And those dollars are making a huge impact.

These guys are no freeloaders. They are volunteers and donors. They are men of word and deed. They are choosing to make an impact with every interaction and opportunity. If you see one of them out on a Saturday, be sure to ask them about the many other ministries and organizations they are helping and contributing to — and pray for them. We need more men’s groups like these, impacting lives for the Lord.

If you’d like to give of your time, talents or treasure, then we would be blessed! Click here for more info on giving financially and serving by volunteering with us.

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.

It's more than furniture!

FFM is about more than furniture. We are about living the gospel through furniture. That has looked different over the years through our growth and how God has used us in the community. But one thing has never changed — our passionate desire for furniture to become a blessing and bring about dignified living for families in need.

Watch our brand new video to hear how this looks in 2021 and how FFM brings partners, churches and volunteers together to serve the community for the sake of the gospel.

We love our volunteers!

We had a great time at our Volunteer Appreciation Cookout! We love our volunteers and wanted to just do something to say “Thanks” to them. We had a tons of fun fellowship and great food.

A big thanks to Vanessa Lundy for planning and hosting a great time for everyone. Check out this video clip of the cookout (on Facebook) and be sure to watch until the end to see who won the game of tug of war!

Ms. Turner's Story [it all belongs to God]

Ever wonder what REALLY happens to your donated furniture once FFM picks it up? As you probably already know, we in turn give it to a family in need. But what does that really mean? They are often with little to no furniture for a matrix of reasons. Divorce, domestic violence, loss of everything in a flood, fire, or even mold, just to name a few. Sometimes its grandmothers simply stepping in to save their grandchildren.

“It all belongs to God…We’re just redistributing what’s His. ”

— Jay McDevitt

On June 25th, because of your faithfulness to give, we were able to bless five families with furniture. Remember, we don’t purchase any furniture. We take your donated furniture and “redistribute” what belongs to God “to the least of these.”

Meet Ms. Turner (name changed for privacy).

Ms. Turner is a grandmother who recently gained custody of her grandchildren and is going through the DFCS process. She needed some items urgently to be a qualified custodian. With the items we delivered today (bunk beds and dressers) they can sleep comfortably and gain permission to stay with their grandmother during this stressful time.

Every piece of furniture donated and every dollar given leads to a unique story of people impacting people. Thank you for your donations of every kind!

To find out more about how to donate to our [more] people campaign to help hire part time staff for us to increase our impact, click here.

Maryam's Story [more than just a sofa]

Maryam’s battle with cancer years ago not only stripped away her health, but also her possessions. She, along with her husband and two girls, slowly lost many of their belongings as she needed more and more medical help. During that battle, a wonderful wealthy woman with a huge house full of furniture offered for her to come over and pick out anything she wanted for her home and take it with her. This couch was one of those pieces and Maryam has treasured it ever since.

Year after year, this couch was a “home base” for her family as they have lived life together. It’s made it through move after move to new apartments in their family journey. But the latest move to a different smaller apartment meant this very special sofa could not stick around for them.

Maryam had taken such good care of this sectional, year after year, that it looked in top condition and ready to sell. Her friends encouraged her to sell it, but she insisted that she wanted to pass along the blessing that she received in her time of great need. So she called Fully Furnished Ministries.

As we picked up this couch and prayed for her and her family, we were reminded about how nothing is truly ours…it is God’s and he chooses to pass it along to family after family and be a blessing. And he gives us the opportunity to be a part of that if we so choose. She chose to be a part of passing that blessing along and we pray the next family will do the same, by giving of their own when they have more.

Maryam prayed over and cleaned this sofa before we arrived. She wanted it to be ready to be a blessing! We invite you to take a minute to pray right now and see if God will speak to you about how He wants to use you today or this week to be a blessing in someone’s life. Is it with a possession you can pass along? Is it a kind word? Is it a money contribution to our ministry or a family in need that you know? Let’s just see how God will keep His giving cycle going!

For more information on how you can donate to our ministry and be a part of more people impacting more people, click here.

Daniel & Jason's Story [it's more than just furniture]

Meet Daniel and Jason. Both serve as volunteers for our ministry. The two of them were complete strangers from very different backgrounds. Yet God brought the two of them together over furniture.

In November of 2019, Daniel arrived to serve with FFM as part of his church, Lugo Alto. Jason also arrived to serve as a part of his church, Victory Church. They met while loading their truck for the day and served together. Throughout the day, they got to know each other and became fast friends. In Jason’s words, “they just hit it off.”

Daniel, Spanish speaking with little English, asked Jason if they could start hanging out so that he could practice his English. And so they did so a few times over the next few months. These two men of God, from very different backgrounds coming together over furniture? Only God could orchestrate that.

“It’s more than furniture…furniture is just the vehicle God uses to show us all His love, grace, and mercy.”

— John Dance, Executive Director

During the pandemic last year, the two friends lost track of each other. Earlier this month, Daniel, needing furniture himself connected with me. While talked he also asked me if I knew of Jason's whereabouts. I contacted Jason and the two friends reconnected.

Through furniture, God has something for all of us. The volunteers, furniture donors, and yes those we bring furniture to. If we listen with our hearts, God is talking to each of us as we engage with one another and share what we have with one another. Perhaps it looks like furniture, but is so much more.

If you’d like to help us impact more people and give more than just furniture, click here and donate much needed funds for our ministry.

Millie's Story [more people impacting more people]

Last Wednesday, James West (Board Member) and John Dance (Executive Director) went out for a pick up. This dear 88-year-old young lady, Millie, wanted to donate her lovely bed and we had someone in urgent need of it and with the bonus of it getting there in time for Father's Day. Why go out on a Wednesday, during the week? Because THERE WAS A NEED and WE CAN! (Now with our own trucks and our weekday work.)

Not only did Millie bless us with her bed, but she also made a donation on the spot to help the least of these as well. This is what people can expect with the Lord. We can all present our needs, through prayer, through communicating with God Himself. He will answer. And he will use us all in a variety of ways to accomplish fulfilling those needs!

Being a now full time ministry that goes out several times during the week and weekend is a huge blessing and responsibility. We have more work now than ever before and with that comes more need for regular paid team members who can show up several times a week and more operational costs because of our expansion. You can be a part of this growth in a big way by donating in this special time for our ministry. Find out more here: https://fullyfurnishedministries.org/donate-more-people

More people impacting more people

We are excited to share with you that God has taken our ministry to a whole new level of impact and engagement. And you can help make it even [more]!

The Gist

This past year, we have been both surprised and blessed with how God has transformed Fully Furnished Ministries! Our Executive Director, John Dance, is now full time, we have 2 fully owned trucks, and nearly one dozen new non-profit partners who refer families in need to us. The result of all this change is a greater impact on those we serve and greater blessing to more volunteers.

We have grown from a part time ministry to a full time one.

The Details

The change from part time to full time ministry work has presented significant new challenges. Specifically, it is difficult finding sufficient volunteer support Monday to Friday for our now daily operations.

Additionally, the busier we get, the higher our operating expenses become. Increased numbers of furniture pickups and deliveries means more gasoline, higher insurance rates, and increased utility and maintenance costs of operating our warehouse on more days. Hear more about this from our leaders in this short 1-minute video update.

So, how can you help us make sure [more] people are impacting [more] people for the remainder of 2021?

The Numbers

With $30,000 of new donations over the next 30 days, FFM can cover increased operation costs, as well as bring on a couple of part time staff to help us in our now daily operations.

We invite you to add your donation at this key moment in our ministry. A moment in which we do our part to follow God’s lead! Donations can be made online at https://fullyfurnishedministries.org/donate-more-people.

Checks can be mailed to:
Fully Furnished Ministries
P.O. Box 4811
Alpharetta, GA 30023

Thank you, and may God bless and keep you.

Jeff Myers
President, Fully Furnished Ministries