Smithville First Christian Church began providing food for those in need in the mid-1980s and opened a food pantry with regular hours in 2004. Today, the food pantry is open Tuesday mornings from 8:30 – 11:00, and if anyone needs food outside those hours, they can contact the church to make arrangements to meet a volunteer. There is also a Blessing Box outside the church that is available 24/7 for people to “Give What You Can”, or “Take What You Need”.
Because the food pantry operates only with local donations, participants are limited to those who live in Smithville, or within the Smithville School District, and participants are asked to provide proof of residency. However, if someone visits from outside our area, we will provide them with food and refer them to a pantry closer to their home.
The food pantry is able to operate thanks to the support from the area businesses, churches, organizations, and individuals. Paradise United Methodist Church, The Church of Good Shepherd, Mt. Olivet Christian Church and too many individuals to list, provide donations every month, and Mid-Continent Public Library donates food from their semiannual “Food for Fines” Program. Eric Craig Real Estate Team and Eagle Heights Elementary School both host annual food drives prior to Christmas, and Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative has donated funds the past several years. These donations allow us to deliver two cloth grocery bags of food to 85 families at Christmas, and serve people in our community throughout the year.
For more information about the food pantry, please email the church office at office@smithvillefirstchristian.org or call 816-532-0773.
You’ll find our Blessing Box at the south end of the Church Street parking lot, just behind the church. Stocked by our Food Pantry and generous community members, it offers non-perishable food that is always available to anyone in our community facing food insecurity.
A small group of people who keep in touch with the homebound through calls, cards and visits. They often take gifts, and communion to those who would like it.
In 2013, several of our church members began a ministry we call “Threads of Faith.” Combining together their love of crafting quilts and their love for the members of our church, they use their gifts of sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting to help keep our members in covenant and prayer.
For each newborn child of our church, Threads of Faith creates a unique quilt that is included as part of their service of dedication. Our congregation blesses the quilt during a ceremony of dedication, as a sign of our care to that family and that child. For the homebound members of our church, they often make prayer quilts and prayer squares.
We have a large group of people who ensure that the members of our church are included, visited, remembered, and cared for.
Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained to offer care to people who are hurting. A Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person to provide comfort and care.
