Grace Bible Church welcoming international students through Big Giveaway initiative
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Grace Bible Church is continuing an initiative that helps new Aggies feel more at home here in BCS. It’s called the Big Giveaway, and it allows international students to get some much-needed items.
The church will be giving away nearly 1,000 items from bikes to kitchen appliances and other household goods.
Texas A&M is expecting to have 3,500 international students during the 2023-2024 school year from 96 countries.
The Big Giveaway started in 1998 after a couple from the church had dinner at an international student’s home and was served water in a yogurt cup.
“The husband Larry said ‘That just illustrates how little students from all over the world bring, and we have the opportunity with things that we have plenty of to share,’” Pat Coyle said.
Coyle is the church’s operations manager and said the giveaway illustrates one of the free gifts God gives, which is grace.
“Those touches, those moments of kindness impact lives in incredible ways,” Coyle said. “We see that in normal everyday ministry, not just ministry like this, and those encounters turn into relationships.”
Registration for the Big Giveaway starts at 5 p.m. Friday at the Grace Bible Church Anderson Campus. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
International students will be able to register for one big item like a bike or desk with a chair and one small item like a blender or rice cooker. They also have the option to register for two small items.
Following registration, there will be a free party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Anderson Park. There will be food, music, performances and more.
Volunteers will deliver the items to the students’ apartments Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
You can learn more about the initiative here.
