“It all began in 2012,” says Luke Thomas of Enid’s Samaritan House.  “One of the churches in town did this one day blitz of the community with all sorts of compassion ministry projects.  This ministry named Operation Inasmuch trained them to reach out into the community. Other churches heard about this Inasmuch Day and within a couple of years there were Inasmuch United Enid events twice a year where hundreds of church people from dozens of congregations were mobilized all over the city helping people in need.”

But it didn’t stop there.  The churches were empowered by these collaborative efforts and soon formed an Operation Inasmuch affiliate that now organizes each Inasmuch United event in Enid.  The affiliate also trains new churches every year to join in and serve. A couple years later Enid Operation Inasmuch began to equip some of the veteran Inasmuch churches to release their people to volunteer in the community on an ongoing basis through their Inasmuch Life process.  The organization then helps the churches by acting like a matchmaker between church and compassion ministry, bringing willing believers together with people in need year round to serve them and help them solve their problems.

“To say that Enid is a different place today because of Operation Inasmuch’s ministry would be putting it mildly,” says Thomas with a broad smile on his face.

Undoubtedly, some of  Thomas’ smile is due to the success of the Samaritan House where he is the Executive Director.  Sam’s Place — as it is affectionately called after its namesake, the good Samaritan — provides a place to live for 30 men who each have two chronic illnesses and were homeless.

Thomas and his meager staff of three manage the hotel-like facility. They also provide transportation and other basic services to their “family” as they refer to the men who live at Sam’s Place.  “These men had nowhere else to go when they came to us,” says Amber Nelson, a social worker at Sam’s Place.  “And we are privileged to serve them in Jesus’ name.”

As Thomas tells it, in the fall of 2012 a group of volunteers came from Eastminster Presbyterian Church during the Inasmuch United Enid to prepare and serve dinner to the 30 residents of Samaritan House.  The volunteers were so impressed with the men who live there and the care Sam’s Place provides that they came back the following month. It is now going on seven plus years that the same volunteers have been serving dinner at Sam’s Place.  Thanks in part to the organizing efforts of Enid Operation Inasmuch, there are now 20 congregations who send volunteers each month to serve dinner.  “And there is a waiting list of churches wanting to help,” says Thomas shaking his head.

“Here is the best part,” says Thomas, “every benevolent agency in Enid has a similar story to tell!  They are all more than fully staffed with volunteers. No, not just volunteers, but extensions of our staffs, people who practice compassion ministry truly as a lifestyle.  And that’s why we have been recognized as the Caring Capital of Oklahoma.”

(NOTE: This is a fictional — but visionary — story about where the Compassion Revolution could be in the year 2020.  Actually, it is derived in part from the story at Parkridge Harbor which can be viewed here.  If what has happened already with Operation Inasmuch is a sign of what is to come, then this story is more truth than fiction!)

Photo Brittany Randolph/The Star In 2010, ladies of Elizabeth Baptist Church helped build a ramp at a home on Gatewood Drive in Fallston for a preliminary Inasmuch project.

The following article appeared online in the Cleveland County (NC) Shelby Star on Monday, Jan 30 2012.

Volunteers prepare to roll up their sleeves

Volunteers invited to participate in one-day missions blitz

by Jackie Bridges (jbridges@shelbystar.com)

While Operation Inasmuch is a ministry supported by the North Carolina Baptist Men, people and churches of all denominations are encouraged to participate, said David Brown, county coordinator.

The event, which gets its name from Matthew 25:40 — “Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” — is a one-day missions blitz that will be taking place in all 100 counties in North Carolina on April 28 and May 5.

In 2010, the Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association had 18 churches participating, completing a total of 230 projects with more than 2,400 volunteers.

“Our projects covered a wide variety of needs including construction and wheelchair ramps, backyard Bible clubs, clothes and food closets, health fairs, painting and yard work, to name a few,” Brown said. “We did make an impact in Cleveland County.”

A church coordinators/leaders meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Elizabeth Baptist Church in adult room 7. Enter the doors on the cemetery side of the church.

Some of the topics to be discussed include “Rampin’ Up,” an event to set a world record in wheelchair ramp building. Project lists and ideas will be shared and T-shirts will be ordered.

Brown said everyone is welcome to attend, even if a church doesn’t have a project yet.

“It’s not too late to be a part of this special time of missions outreach in Cleveland County,” he said.

For more information, call Brown at 704 472-6252 or email dfbrn@bellsouth.net.

Three  2102 Inasmuch United events have set up a web presence (and maybe more – let us know):

• Inasmuch United Sumter,
• Inasmuch United Knoxville, and
• An Inasmuch United across the State of North Carolina (otherwise known as “North Carolina Operation Inasmuch”)

We know that several other Inasmuch Uniteds are in the works, too!

Please contact us if you would like a custom-designed Inasmuch United logo for your event like the sample on the left.

Regional Inasmuch United Training for the 2012 North Carolina statewide event follows:

February 4, 2012

10 AM to 2 PM
Fairview Baptist Church
349 Turnersburg Hwy,
Statesville, NC
704.872.4246
Register Here

February 18, 2012

10 AM to 2 PM
Selma Baptist Church
1500 N Webb Street
Selma, NC
919.965.3228
Register Here

Devotional breakfast at Operation Inasmuch echoes King’s hope

Kim Hasty

The breakfast devotion was a special one Friday morning at [the Fayetteville-Area] Operation Inasmuch down on Hillsboro Street. At the round tables, those who are hungry are served pancakes, eggs, bacon and hot coffee – along with hugs and words of encouragement – by volunteers from local churches and other organizations.

Friday morning, they were offered an extra helping of encouragement as they listened to director Sue Byrd, who recalled the hope and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“We talked about doing something good today when you walk through the streets of Fayetteville,” Byrd said. “We talked about what a man of peace he was.”

She was talking to a group of folks who are experiencing the harshest of life’s hardships. Many are homeless, facing the cold nights of winter without adequate shelter.

“But his words take hold in their heart and it shows in some of the choices they’ve started to make,” she said. “Anybody who shows them a better way is someone we should honor. It reminds them of who they are and that they are a part of the dream of someone who went before them.”

The folks at [the Fayetteville-Area] Operation Inasmuch are taking a rare day off today, but they’ll be back in earnest planning for the Feb. 24 Bread ‘n Bowls fundraiser that benefits their mission.

The annual event, held at Hay Street United Methodist Church, offers Brunswick stew for lunch and supper. The stew is served in either a bread bowl, for $10, or a handmade pottery bowl for $20. It includes a drink and dessert. Proceeds go to [the Fayetteville-Area] Operation Inasmuch.

This year, the event includes a twist.

Greg Hathaway, a local artist who has crafted hundreds of pottery bowls for the event, offered to teach members of the Operation Inasmuch homeless family to paint bowls themselves.

One morning last month, just after breakfast, he set up his supplies and brought in earthenware bowls he had made.

“It was as quiet as a church in there,” said Hathaway, who volunteers for the breakfast shift most mornings. “They don’t have many creative outlets. Usually, they come in and eat and leave. It was kind of fun.”

So it is that 28 of the bowls that will be offered at Bread ‘n Bowls were painted that morning at Operation Inasmuch.

The others? Hathway is steadily working on those at the rate of about 30 or 40 each day. He plans to donate about 500 this year.

So it is that today is a holiday at Operation Inasmuch.

But those who work and volunteer and dine at Operation Inasmuch did not take the day off without first paying homage to the man who had a dream for us all.
“He had the dream of all of us living peacefully together and he didn’t care whether you were black, white or Hispanic,” Byrd said. “That’s truly someone we should honor.”

06:44 AM, Mon Jan 16, 2012 FayOberver.com
Community news editor Kim Hasty can be reached at hastyk@fayobserver.com or 486-3591.

The ministry also had a great 2011! We had difficulties, but we also made some encouraging strides. Here’s a summary of how God blessed the ministry and the Compassion Revolution movement last year:

• We have a new hire, new branding, a new web site, and a new office!
• Three churches started to pilot our new Inasmuch Life process that helps churches mobilize congregants into lifestyles of compassion ministry
• 100 newly trained churches hosted an Inasmuch Day or joined an Inasmuch United
• 405 churches reported on their Inasmuch events and the results are awesome:

-     116,000 people in need served by

-     22,000 volunteers through

-     1,600 projects with

-     $3M of volunteer labor and materials invested in communities of 21 states!

• Groups of churches gathered to serve together in 18 Inasmuch United events

We look forward to continuing this momentum in 2012! Our plans and goals include:

• 400 churches hosting an Inasmuch Day or joining an Inasmuch United for the first time
• 10 “early adopter” churches trained in the Inasmuch Life process
• 30 Inasmuch United events (12 new!)
• Introducing new resource materials including an Inasmuch United Guide and a book of Children’s Projects for an Inasmuch event

Watch and pray that the Father will continue to use Operation Inasmuch to build His kingdom, that the Compassion Revolution will move forward boldly as significantly more believers and congregations embrace Jesus’ call to be his hands and feet for people in need everywhere.

– David Crocker, January 2012

Year End 2011 — Operation Inasmuch’s 2011 Impact

December 2011 — The Witch-Doctor’s Wife Said “Yes!”

November 2011 – An Amazing Painting and the 21st State

October 2011 – Carson-Newman Recognized for Service

August 2011 — Inasmuch Life is Coming to Life

July 2011 — Operation Inasmuch Feeds 50,000

June 2011 — New Web Site, New Office, New Phone Number

May 2011 — Thanks Again & New Names (for Operation Inasmuch)

March 2011 — Financial Seal of Approval & Thanks from David Crocker

February 2011 — Face of Operation Inasmuch Dies

January 2011 — Operation Inasmuch Expands Staff

And the result was far more than he or anyone else could have expected.
“God used our Inasmuch Day to call me into full-time ministry where I can do more of’what I did on that day,” says Smist. He is currently a seminary student preparing for’professional ministry.

The back-story is what makes Smist’s journey so amazing. A few years ago, Smist was a well-respected college professor and author. But his life took an abrupt turn…

… when he was struck by a vehicle traveling 53 mph.

Smist lay in a coma for months.  He was told he would never be able to function normally again because his physical and mental faculties were devastated by the accident. But three years ago, Smist began to improve slowly. Today, he has recovered almost 100% of his mental function while still dealing with some lingering physical problems.

Despite these challenges, Frank signed up for Leawood Baptist’s Inasmuch Day.

He was assigned to go with the Pastor, Rev. Mike McKinney and Inasmuch Coordinator, Brock Rowatt, to visit the sick and shut-ins that day. Something happened in those visits that neither McKinney nor Rowatt recognized.

“I felt God tugging at my heart,” says Smist, “telling me I am supposed to use the rest of my life serving people as I did during the Inasmuch Day.” Since that day, Smist has been licensed to the gospel ministry and he is a student at Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City.

Reflecting on that experience, Frank says

I can never say enough what Operation Inasmuch means to me. It has given me a new direction in life.

“What an amazing story this is,” says David Crocker, Executive Director of Operation Inasmuch, Inc. “It is one more of what is becoming a very long list of stories confirming one of Operation Inasmuch’s core values: when we do what God tells us to do, He always has more in mind!”

How many people do you know who are conscientious in serving people in need at Christmas but do not give it much thought at other times? Is compassion ministry another item on our Christmas To-Do list like shopping, attending parties, and the Christmas Eve service at church?

Benevolent ministry leaders are quick to lament the fact that so many people seem motivated to serve others only at Christmas. We talk about the need, even the desire, to have the Christmas spirit year round — which presumably would include serving people in need — but does it happen?

When Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it [given clothes to the naked, visited the sick or imprisoned, given food for the hungry], you have done it for me,” he wasn’t thinking about Christmas.

When he told those in his hometown of Nazareth what he would be doing in his public ministry (Luke 4: 18-19) and, by implication, announced what his followers would do, he was not talking about Christmas.

How DO we perpetuate that part of the Christmas spirit that motivates us to serve people in need year round?

It begins with an understanding that compassion ministry is an indispensable part of being a follower of Jesus.  All of Scripture makes that clear, especially the Gospels.

In the remaining days of this Christmas, when most of the hectic stuff is over, why not spend a little time reflecting on how to extend the Christmas spirit well into 2012?

As you think about what you’d like to accomplish in the New Year, why not re-read the Gospel of Luke, the most compassionate of the Gospels, and listen to God’s voice to you?

The Inasmuch ministry is about motivating, equipping and deploying believers throughout the Kingdom into lifestyle compassion ministry—serving people in need using one’s life experiences, passions and skills as a matter lifestyle.

To put it another way, Inasmuch Life perpetuates that part of the Christmas spirit which leads us all to be more compassionate and generous than normal. Inasmuch Life means keeping the spirit of Christmas all the time.

Merry Christmas from the Inasmuch Team.