Let’s face it, some passages in the Bible just get in your face. James says, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet does not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
Pastor Loren Dubberke of North Fresno Church decided he would face that scripture head-on. But rather than simply giving out food, he would address more than just the symptoms, lasting change in the lives of those who came to the church in need. So he created FACE, Fresno Area Community Enterprises. FACE has now started three social enterprises with the Help of the Spark Tank that are providing work experience to those coming out of incarceration, and to neighbors from the Robinson neighborhood surrounding the church. They would do it with the love of the Gospel at the foundation of all they do, so that people are gaining not just new skills, but a new life foundation rooted in the grace and love of God. They would do it because, behind every need presented, there is a face, a human story that God cares about, and calls us to as well. And God wants to redeem that story at all costs.
All three of FACE’s social enterprises have won a CCT Spark Tank award. Check this video out to see their inspiring story:
