Missions & Outreach

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' " ~ Matthew 25: 34-36

2023 Initiatives

2023 is going to be even better than 2022! No matter what goes on in life, "giving" feels good. It is always a joy to help put a smile on someone else's face. This year,  we will  continue in our efforts to bring Matthew 25: 35-36 to life by blessing others who otherwise might not receive in any other way.

summer 2023... we will be conducting

MISSION WORK IN JAMAICA!

A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN 25 TO LIFE MISSIONS & OUTREACH MINISTRY
AND  THE POWER OF ONE MISSION & OUTREACH MINISTRY

Zion's 25 to Life Missions & Outreach Ministry is partnering with The Power of One Mission and Outreach Ministry, and July 15th-21st of 2023, we are headed on a mission trip to help with VBS for two churches (Roehampton Baptist Church & Comfort Hall Baptist) in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This is not a pleasure trip nor a vacation.  We will be working! ...and we are very excited about this endeavor. To be able to help others and be a blessing to them is a wonderful thing. It feels so good to give and to help. For this missions and outreach journey we have collected items needed for the children in Jamaica. The two churches we will be helping currently have limited supplies for their children's church, Sunday school, and Wednesday night Bible study. 25 to Life team member, Sis. Vickie Donald, says, "the team has been meeting regularly with other churches who will be on this mission trip also." The Team recently had "a wonderful meeting that was definitely shout worthy, and some tears were even shed which is common of our meetings. We can’t wait to take The Z Experience international! We asked Pastor Michael Francis and his wife what the church and the children need most, and they specified that they desire school supplies and arts and crafts supplies i.e., crayons, markers, scissors, glue sticks, arts and crafts items, and colored pencils." 25 To Life is so grateful for all who have made donations and contributions toward this mission. As always, we, in realizing all contributions are completely voluntary,  greatly appreciate all efforts from each of our contributors. Please keep 25 To Life and this mission in your prayers. 

CONTRIBUTE TO OUR MISSIONS!

25 To Life is always on a mission to give back as much and as often as we can. Doing so takes funding. We, the members of the team, make contributions, our church, Zion Christian Ministries, and church members make contributions, and our families make contributions. We open up our giving portal to you, our friends, to be able to make contributions as well. If you would like to give toward our missions and outreach efforts, please do so below. Any amount you donate is greatly appreciated, and will be used to bless a man, woman, or child in our very own backyard, in our very own community. To donate now, please enter the amount you would like to give, click the Choose a fund drop-down to the right and select 25 to Life, click Next, and continue to follow the onscreen directions. Thank you so much for your kindness!

25 TO LIFE HAPPENINGS OF 2023 TO-DATE!

We get to SERVE!

In February of 2023, 25 to Life ( Alicia Bernadette Pinkerton ) and TL Catering (Ricus Haynes ) had the opportunity to bless the LaVergne High School Girls' Basketball Team and their Coaches with dinner. What an honor and privilege.

Gifts for state championship preparation

In May of 2023, Zion's 25 to Life Missions & Outreach Ministry, in conjunction with Man Maker Academy Inc., had the awesome privilege of putting smiles on the faces of four young men of the LaVergne High School Track Team as they prepared to compete for the TSSAA State Championship! We were so happy to deliver new warmups, shoes, spikes, hoodies, socks, backpacks, and state championship shirts to the team. 
These four wonderful young men competed for a state championship in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. Zion Griffin, Jordan Earl, Tamarian Hill, and John Sherman were given a chance to break several records and make history for LaVergne High School, themselves, and for so many other young people who “no one” saw coming. They, prior to competing in the championship runs, hold the top time in Tennessee at 41.9 and were closing in on the 1989 state record held by Oakland High School! John Sherman's 10.40 in the 100m, 21.17 in the 200m is at the top in Tennessee!

Bradley Academy Elementary - An Arts Integrated School

In the early part of the Spring semester of 2023, Murfreesboro City Schools reached out to ask for 25 To Life and Zion Christian Ministries, in conjunction with some other local organizations to adopt Bradley Academy Elementary School in order create a school store as an initiative to encourage attendance in school. Bradley Academy is an elementary school consisting of  Pre-K to 6th grade students. The headcount hovers around 339 students. It is composed of a diverse student body with 30% being African-American, 30% Hispanic, 15% Caucasian and 25% multicultural or other nationalities. Of those 339 students, last year (2022) their attendance rate was at 48%, which equates to about 169 students attending school out of 339. This means 52% of their student body was considered chronically absent. Further breakdown of the numbers show of the 52% chronically absent, they missed at least 18 days of the school year. There are 30 students who are homeless, whether sleeping in their car, staying in hotels, etc. There are other kids who have situations like no transportation to school and other situations where the parents are unable to take them to school. 
Bradley Academy has adapted initiatives to promote attendance, such as daily recognition, drawings for $50 family meal cards that have perfect weekly attendance, monthly house rewards, and quarterly activity gift cards for families. However, they are not seeing the growth in attendance as hoped. Piggybacking off of Nashville Metro Public Schools where they have adopted a school store that gives students "points" for attending school, and in return for attendance, families of said students are able to come to the school store to purchase household items with the "points" that their students have earned. Where 25 To Life and Zion come in on the adoption of the school is in helping to supply and provide household items to put in the school store.
School Store Success!
The Spring of 2023 was a pilot program to see if it would work and make a difference. The store was held each month beginning in April and ending in May, so it was a 2-month test run. We began collecting donations and contributions in February. MCS's Bradley Academy focussed on only the at-risk students who were either considered chronically absent or who were close to being considered as such. According to the principal, Mr. Rocha, that number equated to 200 students. We accepted donations through March 22nd. The pilot program was a huge success! That is what happens when you get an assignment and God puts a group of people together! We get it done! Together, 25 To Life, Zion Christian Ministries, True Victory Church, and Move With Noah were able to provide Bradley Academy with so many items! Serving is a privilege, and we are so glad that we get to do it!

Spring Cleaning Initiative

April showers brings May flowers, but it's also a sign that it's time to do some thorough cleaning. Zion's missions and outreach ministry, 25 To Life, initiated a Spring Cleaning Campaign with the intent to clean up the facilities at Zion Christian Ministries from top to bottom as well as inside and out. That included Zion's surrounding property, and in April of 2023 they did just that. Soliciting and gathering a group of serious volunteers who did not mind deep cleaning God's house, the one He gave Zion stewardship over, and they worked from early hours one Saturday morning until evening hours ensuring Zion got a good scrub up and down. Again, it is all about serving and doing so cheerfully. Cleaning products and supplies were available on sight, so all the volunteers had to do was show up. 25 To Life made sure to show their appreciation and gratitude in a special way by feeding the volunteers.

Teacher Appreciation 2023

25 to Life gifted some local teachers with love and appreciation! they blessed the teachers and staff at two local schools, Holloway High and Daniel-McKee, with a delicious lunch during the month of March 2023. They also put together gift baskets full of snacks, drinks, hand sanitizer, and other goodies. Our missions and outreach ministry is keeping busy in the business of being a blessing to others! To God be the Glory for the things He has done!

Z-Packs of Love!

25toLife started the year off right with our first project of the year: Packs of Love! We found a very special nursing home with 105 residents to bless with care packages. It was a wonderful time collecting the donations and contributions and then putting the care packages together. There was a great feeling of exhilaration as we dropped the packages off. God is amazing in that He has blessed us with a heart and mind to give and serve others. 

YOUR KINDNESS IN 2022 WAS UNMATCHED! THANK YOU!

10K Finish Strong Seed, Thank you to Everyone who contributed!

This seed initiative was implemented to assist in funding 25 To Life's missions such as our annual Easter outreach effort with Belle Aire Baptist Church, school sponsorships, food pantries, angel tree, mission trips, and so much more. One of Zion's objectives has always been and will continue to be  expanding our reach and bringing more souls to Christ resulting in more life-changing testimonies! 
From the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely appreciate all who made contribution towards this campaign. Our goal was to raise $10,000 by 2022 year's end . Initially, we didn't quite reach our goal, but thanks to the generosity of one member, her last minute intentional gift pushed us to the mark! We reached our goal! ... and we are grateful!

2022 Angel Tree Christmas Was a Huge Success!

Our partnership with Prison Fellowship and their 2022 Angel Tree Christmas program was amazing. We had so much support from the member of Zion Christian Ministries, and we want to say "thank you" for your kindness and generosity. Everyone made sure to get their gifts and donations to us by the requested time, and the 25 To Life team was able to get them all wrapped and ready for the children. On Sunday, December 28th we had a Christmas Party for the gift recipients and what a beautiful time we had. It's just something about see children' s little faces light up with bright eyes and big smiles. Christmas season is always a reason to be a blessing to others.

Helping to Feed the Community a Thanksgiving Dinner to Remember

25 To Life, along with several other churches, served in the Community Thanksgiving Dinner held at Patterson Park Community Center on November 17th, 2022. It gave our missions and outreach ministry the opportunity to fellowship with and serve a free hot meal to the awesome First Responders and wonderful neighbors within our community. "Serve" is the common denominator in all of our efforts. As always, it is an honor and a privilege!

Celebrating with local teachers

25 To Life made In-Service Day great for a few of Murfreesboro's finest teachers. Sticking firm to Zion's true nature, this ministry served teachers and staff at Daniel McKee Alternative School with breakfast, afternoon snack, and a small token of appretiation for their efforts and dedication in teaching. We also provided lunch and a small gift of appreciation to the staff at Holloway High School. Giving back is what it's all about. We simply desired to show appreciation to and honor those who willingly give of themselves daily teaching and instilling knowledge in our youth.

An Easter Celebration To Remember

Two churches within the same community who serve the one and only living God come together to celebrate the Risen Savior! Easter Celebration 2022 definitely made its mark and established its place in history. So many people showed up to share in this wonderful celebration. 

Putting in work to bless those who help fill our children with knowledge

In April we got together to craft gifts for some deserving local teachers. Intentions for these gifts are to present them during teacher appreciation week which is in May. 

We get together and have a little fun too!

Conversing and playing games together strengthens our bond as a team. We work, we serve, and we have fun!

Partnership with Habitat for Humanity

The beginning of 2022, 25 To Life teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to gift bibles to new homeowners during their key-giving ceremony. We began soliciting donations and contributions toward this initiative in February and commenced this endeavor in March when the recipients were set to receive their keys.
This was another wonderful opportunity for us to present the culture of Zion and increase visibility on this body of believers all in hopes of adding to God's Kingdom.  25 To Life loves to give back... It's what we do!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY IN 2021!

25 To Life kicked off our 2021 holiday missions at the end of October, and like a whirlwind, Zion and the Rutherford County community came through with the donations and contributions. We are so thankful to each of you for your kindness and generosity. Because of you, many families were blessed. You all helped us to actually fulfill our mission of bringing Matthew chapter twenty-five to life. Each 2021 initiative, from the Angel Tree project to the diaper drive and the Christmas cards projects, was a success. 

ANGEL TREE 2021

was a success ... so many donations & gifts received and distributed

Zion Christian Ministries and 25 To Life Missions & Outreach Ministry had the opportunity to partner with Prison Fellowship to bless families of incarcerated parents by sharing the Gospel and gifting through the Angel Tree Program. We were given a total of ten beautiful children from two different families. It was such a pleasure to be able to give back to the community and spread holiday cheer to these beautiful Angel Tree children helping them to have a great Christmas. We hope it was a Christmas they will always remember.


BORO DIAPER DRIVE 2021

... another successful 25 To Life community giveaway!
25 To Life Missions & Outreach Ministry gave away diapers, wipes, and turkeys to several families over the 2021 Christmas Holiday Season. We were able to bless families with newborns and toddlers with items that can be pretty expensive when you have to purchase them on a regular basis. We also blessed families with turkeys too.  We wanted to give parents a little bit of a financial break during Christmas time as their budgets are hit a bit harder when trying to give their family a great Christmas.

2021 Operation Christmas Cards

25 To Life collected signed cards from anyone who wanted to participate in this initiative of sending Christmas cards to our troops. It was our desire to let our troops know that we remember, love, and miss them especially at Christmas time. 

gifts and donations accepted anytime

25 To Life is continuously seeking donations as our missions and outreach efforts are ongoing throughout each year. Any and all contributions are welcomed and needed. To donate now, please enter the amount you would like to give, click the Choose a fund drop-down to the right and select 25 to Life, click Next, and continue to follow the onscreen directions. Any amount given will be greatly appreciated as it will go towards blessing a man, woman, boy, girl, baby, or an entire family. Thank you for your contribution.