End Time Ministries International distributed more than 350 backpacks full of school supplies to Madison-area kids as they hosted a Back 2 School Giveaway and mini-carnival on Aug. 5.
“We wanted to give the kids a fun day and make sure that they had the proper things to be ready for school,” Bishop Dr. Godfrey Stubbs, Sr. Pastor of End Time Ministries International, tells Madison 365 “I feel that an event like this is very important because parents and relatives are struggling financially. Our team just wanted to take that burden off the parents and try to take hold of that. As a church, we have been called to serve the community and this is one way we can serve and one way we can give back and embrace the community.”
“I was so excited to see the kids excited … and not just the kids, but the parents were excited. So, for me, I became a kid. I became a big kid,” Stubbs adds.
Bishop Stubbs, who was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas, started End Time Ministries as an extension of vacation Bible school in the Bridge Lake Point Neighborhood and officially became officially known as End Time Missionary Baptist Church in the summer of 2002.
Partners of the Back 2 School Giveaway with End Time Ministries International included Families Back to The Table Inc.; Warming Hands Residential Services LLC; Hands on Residential Services LLC; JMI Academy and Connecting the Dots with Mattie.
“Just to see those kids smiling and having fun. That was so rewarding. I felt good,” Stubbs says. “I went home that evening after the event so happy. It was an opportunity to touch the community at large regardless of wherever they come from – north, south, east, west Madison. It was cool to see so many children so happy and to receive a gift to go back to school with.”
The Back 2 School Giveaway and Mini-Carnival, now in its fourth year, also had cartoon characters, multiple bouncy houses, a waterslide, hula hoops, nachos, hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, and a dunk tank. DJ Andrea Jackson played old and new school music throughout the event.
Pastor Stubbs says that they still have a few backpacks left after the event. If you still need a backpack for school this fall, you can come to End Time Ministries, 15 Ellis Potter Court on Madison’s West Side and pick one up or e-mail [email protected].
