The story below is about a ministry of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, which is a recent recipient of the Matthew 25 Grant, sponsored by ABCUSA.

Project Restoration is a ministry of the Older Adults Ministries of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention. This new effort began in 2012 to help senior adults dwelling in distressed living conditions. Many senior adults own their own homes, but no longer have the income or physical ability to maintain them. Over the past year, volunteers from 16 churches have assessed the needs of these homes and repaired 17 of them. Project Restoration has another 25 homes awaiting repairs through the efforts of volunteers.

With help from an ABCUSA Matthew 25 Grant, along with funding from the Edes Home Foundation and the DC Baptist Convention Foundation, materials have been purchased to accomplish the needed repairs. Volunteers provide the labor to accomplish the repairs, while other church members provide meals for those working on the projects.

One recipient of the repairs wrote, “Thank you and thank you, again. Today, I had a fantastic, blessed day. Eight volunteers came to my house as planned. I thank God for them. They were marvelous in completing everything that we had talked about. May God continue to bless all of you for the wonderful work you are doing through the Restoration Project.”

The Matthew 25 Grant, sponsored by ABCUSA, is funded by a generous donor whose goal is to help meet the needs of “housing, feeding, education and health with regard to the less fortunate.” Ministries must be in relationship with American Baptist Churches to be eligible to apply.  Awards for the Matthew 25 grant are made twice a year, in April and October, with application deadlines of March 1 and September 1. To view the guidelines and download the application form, click here.