"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:34-40

As the community engagement arm of The Perfecting Church, Loving Our Cities seeks to mobilize people to be the church, loving God and our neighbors by meeting practical needs in the communities where we live, work, serve and worship. Central to loving God and our neighbors is service, recognizing that it has the power to not only transform individuals, but entire communities.

On September 19th, we experienced this firsthand, as The Perfecting Church joined Camden's Charter School Network and the Food Bank of South Jersey to announce the opening of a new food pantry serving our neighbors in Cramer Hill and operated in-part by Camden Academy Charter High School students.

"While Camden is consistently reported as the nation's poorest city, it's made up of vibrant communities like Cramer Hill that are rich in young people ready to make a difference," said Angela M. Brown, executive director of community engagement & strategic partnerships at Perfecting Ministries. "This partnership addresses the persistent problem of hunger that plagues too many families while affording our youth the opportunity to serve their community, developing their gifts without the distraction of hunger."

Camden's Charter School Network Food Pantry officially opens on Saturday, Oc​tober 1​7​th, and will operate every third Saturday from 9​-11 a​m, serving residents of Cramer Hill as well as the families of the 1​,5​00 students served by Camden's Charter School Network. For more information or to volunteer, click here and be sure to visit our Facebook page for news coverage and photo highlights of the launch.

A special thanks to Dr. Joe Conway and Marvin Jones of Camden's Charter School Network and to all who came out to volunteer and express their support! Thanks for Loving Our Cities!

Since their season kick-off Au​gust 1​2​th, volunteers of A Few Good Men have been on a mission to transform some of the region's most talented athletes into tom​orrow's exceptional leaders. To date, A Few Good Men has served 4​2​5 students at Willingboro, Rancocas Valley, Burlington Township, Timber Creek, Winslow Township, Deptford and Woodrow Wilson high schools, conducting workshops on sportsmanship and social media etiquette for participating football coaches and their teams.

In addition to attending the workshops, participants are challenged to volunteer, with those modeling leadership on their teams and within their schools, churches and communities, receiving a trophy and recognition in a special supplement in the Courier Post at the end of their respective seasons. For more information, visit www.afewgoodones.org and view photo highlights of their engagement here.

PerfectingKids, is accepting candy donations at its Sunday gatherings at The Perfecting Church throughout the month of October in preparation for its annual Harvest Party from 6​-​8 ​pm on Sa​tur​day, Oc​tober 3​1​st.

Students, ages three through ten years-old and their families are invited to join us for a fun-filled evening at the Garden State Discovery Museum featuring games, art & craft activities and all of the candy they can eat reap! For more information click here.

Ephesians 2:​1​0 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

What a profound and stunning truth, “We are His workmanship“. God the Father created us in Christ Jesus for good works that were prepared for us before we were born. Modern culture feeds us the lie that life is our invention, but rightly understood it is our discovery. We were made by God in Christ Jesus (John 1:3 tells us, All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made). God does not make things without intent in mind. He made us for works He had already planned.

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