the Family Fund

Renée Antrosio – July 25, 2022 1 Comment

Karen Hogenboom has been serving on the Family Fund for many years. Enjoy this reflection on how your giving blesses our extended family and provides for their needs. -Renée

New Covenant Fellowship is committed to caring for its family members, and one way we do that is through the Family Fund.  A small portion of the NCF budget is set aside to help with financial needs of NCF family members.  The fund is administered by a small group which I have the privilege to chair.  We help in emergencies: for example, when someone’s car breaks down, they can’t afford to fix it, and they will lose their job if they can’t get to work.  We have kept countless utilities from being disconnected in the more than fifteen years I have been a Family Fund member, and have prevented many evictions.  

Why is it important to care for our family in this way?  As I hope is true in all things, God is our model.  God provided food for the hungry Israelites in the desert (Isaiah 16).  Psalm 68 describes God as a “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows (v. 5).  In the Old Testament, widows and orphans live precarious lives–the book of Ruth is a story that demonstrates what can happen to women alone in that culture.  Widows are perhaps less likely to live precariously in our culture, but some of them do and many other demographics live as much on the edge as widows did even into the New Testament.  NCF feels that God has called us to care for the marginalized in our society, and the Family Fund is one of the ways that we do that.  

As with most things, there are many procedures around Family Fund requests to help ensure that the funds we are trusted with are spent in the best way possible.  One is that someone in the congregation needs to bring the request.  We cannot do the kind of screening that a social service agency would do, so we rely on the congregation to vouch for the person receiving help.  We also do not give money directly to individuals, but only to landlords, utility companies, etc… on their behalf.  These are the constraints that come up most often, but in some situations we have other limitations to consider (an example is IRS rules).  

We want to pour out our funds in blessing to those who are in need, so if you are a member of the congregation and are in need or are close to someone who is in need, please contact one of us (the Family Fund is me, Nancy, Judy, Barb P, and Lehman).  And please pray for us, that we would make decisions wisely and with love.

Karen Hogenboom
July 2022