Kevin Martin, senior pastor at Chandler First Assembly of God Church in Chandler, Oklahoma, recalls the day in 2023 when he prayed for God to show him a way to help the needy in his community.
Chandler, a small rural community 45 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, is “like every other town,” Martin explains. “It has people who are in need.
“We have businesspeople in our church, and they were talking to me about what more we could do to help. So, I went to pray about it, and that’s when the Lord directed me to help kids by adopting a school.”
The church decided on East Side Elementary. Martin, who is also the chaplain at the jail in Lincoln County, then met a visitor to the prison who pastors a nearby church. A conversation ensued, and soon the pastor told Martin about The Kaleo Foundation, a nonprofit run by Assemblies of God ministers Sam and Pam Walker. The foundation partners with various organizations to collect and distribute donated food to other organizations seeking to feed the hungry.
After meeting the Walkers, a partnership was struck where Chandler First Assemblies could obtain food items from Kaleo to donate to East Side Elementary School, which serves pre-K to second grade students, before the kids left for spring break.
About a dozen church volunteers filled and delivered to the school nearly 400 “Blessing Bags” with canned ravioli, energy drinks, vitamin water, canned tuna, candy and hygiene products. They had enough bags for every student, teacher, paraprofessional and administrator at East Side Elementary.
“The principal said she had never seen kids so excited,” Martin offers, adding that some of the kids have started attending the church’s Wednesday night children’s ministry.
“In a darkened world,” says Martin, “we want to shed the light of Jesus, whether it’s through food, a hug or a smile, we want them to know somebody cares.”
