MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Every second Saturday of the month, Christ Church cooks the homeless in the Myrtle Beach area a hot meal and makes sure they have warm clothing.
“People freeze to death on our streets, and that’s shocking to people. They don’t realize it gets that cold, and that’s how the ministry started,” Chris Koppel, who helps lead the homeless outreach ministry at Christ Church said.
Koppel started feeling and clothing the homeless in Myrtle Beach out of her car around four years ago, and the program quickly grew.
“These folks are hurting, and of course they have all kinds of issues in life, but they’re freezing, and they’re cold, and they’re hungry. So just bringing them in here and showing them love and showing them the love of Christ, that’s kind of what our mission is,” Koppel said.
Christ United busses in anywhere from 100 to 120 members of the homeless community each month.
“We can’t always get people off of the streets, but we can definitely show them love, and when they come here they go away knowing they’re loved, and they tell us they feel loved. That’s the goal; that’s the mission,” Koppel said.
Koppel got the idea to help in the middle of an especially cold winter where she says around seven people froze to death.
“That’s just not okay for me as a Christian and for us as humans, that we have people who need such simple things like clothes and food and blankets and sleeping bags to survive, so for me it’s an easy give; it’s an easy thing to do,” Koppel said.
Christ United is looking for donations of warm winter clothing to keep their efforts going. To donate, drop off your new or gently used winter items to Christ United located at 2901 Fantasy Way Myrtle Beach, SC 29579.