ImpactUNCC - Christmas Bangarang!

Christmas Bangarang!

By Nathan Evans

Bang-a-rang | A hubbub, uproar, disorder, or disturbance. General exclamation meant to signify approval or amazement. An awesome uproar. A Bangarang. An exclamation meant to spur change, and motivate a group of like-minded individuals to something greater than themselves. This was the goal we set before our student body. We called them to something bigger than themselves and what they as individuals were capable of. A rally set around our love of God, and to make our giving a reflection of our relationship with Him. We decided to celebrate the advent season in a way that served the community around us. Our Campus. Our Community. Our City. Our God!

Our challenge was simple: We askedour students to sacrifice part of the gifts they wouldreceive this Christmas for the good of those around us. We asked each of our students to give to make an "awesome uproar" in our community possible. We had 4 areas in mind that we wanted to give generously to as a church. The homeless, families, campus residents, and orphans. We sat together as a staff and with our student leaders and brainstormed specific areas within each of these that we could serve and make someone's life a little brighter this Christmas.

We were met with an overwhelming response. We had a small amount from our general fund we set aside for this event, and when we combined it with what our students gave we had nearly $2,500 to give away!

First, we wanted to provide some of Charlotte's homeless with the means to stay warm and comfortable this winter. We set out to collect shoes, gloves, hats, socks, coats, and sweatshirts for as many men and women as we could manage. With the help of one of our supporting churches - Centre Pointe - we were able to collect nearly 80 pairs of shoes. With some of the money our students gave we were able to buy and collect hats, gloves, socks, and coats/sweatshirts for 100 people. It was an exhilarating afternoon spent uptown making the lives of the homeless a little warmer!

That next Sunday we put together 50+ care packages for our students to give to their roommates or friends as a means of shining a little light into the dreariness of their Finals week.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas several of our students spent countless hours of their free time shopping, wrapping, and organizing "Christmas" for 8 Cabarrus County families. Through the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services we got the names of 8 families who didn't have the resources to buy gifts for their children or provide a "traditional" Christmas dinner for their family. That's where we stepped in! We bought 7 Christmas Dinners, 2-$50 Walmart Gift Cards (One family didn't need dinner), and Christmas Presents for over 15 kids who otherwise would have found their Christmas Tree empty this year.

Lastly, in February we're going to go to an area Orphanage and throw a "Valentine's Day" party. Cake, decorations, valentines, games...we want to spend some time loving some kids who aren't used to getting intentional attention.

These are just a few of the things we planned. Our Community Groups did countless events throughout the semester to reach out and love those around us. We go downtown monthly to spend an afternoon loving the least-of-these Uptown. We want to live lives focused outwardly as Christ has done before us. We want to make a ‘Bangarang!' not just a single event, a consistent reflection of God's love in our lives!

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