Church Group makes Christmas possible for 61 kids
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Thanks to a Senior Bible study group from First Baptist in Bryan, this Christmas will now be filled with more holiday cheer for dozens of children.
The Church class, “Closer Walk” at First Baptist in Bryan consists of around 80-100 people. This Christmas season, the group raised about $17,000 and made presents possible for 25 families with 61 kids.
Missions Director of the class, Chris Mauritzen, explains what their group did behind the scenes.
“We had the families identify what each child wanted for Christmas and then we took that list and then we literally went shopping individually for the different families. We took those presents and put them in a big black bag so they could not see the presents. We then gave those presents to the families so they can give to their children at Christmas,” Mauritzen said.
A member of the “Closer Walk” class, Karen Kinerd, shared a story of a particular family.
“There was one family in particular that the parent told the children ‘I’m sorry but we can’t have Christmas this year.’ I don’t know about you but that hit me hard, that hits hard because we know that we all want them to have Christmas and we want to be a part of it, and we were,” Kinerd said.
The idea behind the giving all started when Chris Mauritzen gave Christmas gifts to an expecting mom of triplets in 2017. Since then, Chris and his church group have given school supplies and Christmas gifts to children every year.
“It was really exciting to see how everyone was involved. We paired off in teams and we looked like little kids running through the store trying to find toys, and dresses and things like that for the kids,” said the teacher of “Closer Walk” church class.
Members of the group say they are blessed because the children are.
“The people there and how they benefitted from this, I am blessed that I can be a part of it,” said Kinerd.
“Seeing the blessings that the children receive and these families receive, we receive a blessing too, but we’re trying to bring honor and glory to God.,” said Mauritzen.
The “Closer Walk” church group raised almost $45,000 this year to benefit kids and families in need.
