“You Are Special”(YAS) is loved by all of us who participate in YAS because the chance is provided to give freely, as we have been freely given to. It allows us to show the gracious heart of God to those who are in need. Many of our participants have walked away from the community outreaches blessed and filled with joy knowing that they were used by God to bless others.

“As I knocked on the doors of the families, and saw their faces when their children received Christmas presents, or bags full of Thanksgiving dinner, the joy I felt was amazing, and I could feel God’s love for these people inside of my own heart.” –YAS Participant

The Word of God clearly shows us our responsibilities as Christians in the community. The question remains to be “If we were gone, would our community miss us?” We just want to serve like Jesus did. He has given us all life in Him, and we would like to show Him to every person we give to. We are commanded by the Lord to show mercy to those in need, not just in word but with our actions also. Mathew 10:8b “Freely you have received, freely give.” And James 2:15-16 says to us, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”

We run our food program with donated items and “fresh rescue” for low income families, the disabled and homeless in order to provide 4 days worth of food at any time which includes fresh produce, milk, yogurt and eggs. According to America’s Second Harvest, over 41 billion pounds of food have been wasted this year. Fresh fruits and vegetables, fluid milk, grain products, and sweeteners (mostly sugar and high-fructose corn syrup) accounted for two-thirds of the losses. 16 billion pounds of milk and 14 billion pounds of grain products make up part of that loss; food that could have gone to millions.





YAS began with the giving away of backpacks to the homeless. We filled the backpacks with non-perishable food items, water, and a Bible. Congregant members then take the backpacks in their cars and whenever they see someone in need, they give them the backpack. Also, at the end of each summer, we provide backpacks for school aged children K-12 stuffed full of school supplies so they are set and ready to go back to school.





At Thanksgiving, we pack grocery bags full of a hearty Thanksgiving Dinner for low-income families. This past year we distributed over 300 full holiday dinners to low income families and group homes in our local community for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Each bag of groceries include a frozen turkey, canned vegetables, potatoes, yams, marshmallows, as well as a pie for each family. Along with the Christmas toy giveaway we as a community ministry, gave over 150 full holiday meals donated from our local Fresh and Easy and Albertsons.





This past year, in addition to handing toys out at our church facility, families in our church sponsored families from 2 impoverished neighborhoods -working with community leaders and landlords in the local area of Orange and Santa Ana. The Sunday before Christmas we hand-delivered these toys to these families. While it is wonderful to see the children brighten when they receive a toy, our goal is not so much the toy, but to be a beacon of hope to these children. This past year, while giving away over 2300 toys, we redoubled our effort to reach out to the mid- to late teens. Kids in this age group are the casualties of our cultures apathy and self-centeredness. We pray we were able to break through to at least one teen. If requested, we also offer a free gift wrapping service conducted by our youth.





One of our future goals is to build a larger holding capacity for food as YAS continues to increase. We also have a strong desire to start an emergency food storage program in order to provide the basic needs, starting with good healthy food, in the event of an emergency. Through that program we would eventually begin working with those affected by a personal disaster to teach them to become self-reliant.