Mike Adkins reaches out to those in need

By Kyle Beard

ORLANDO, Fla. — Easter is more than searching for multi-colored eggs and gorging yourself with chocolate bunnies this year.

Mike Adkins, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Orlando and his congregation are doing something more for the community.

Together with the Destiny Foundation — an organization founded to aid struggling families in Central Florida — Adkins and Grace Fellowship were able to raise donations for over 500 bags of groceries for the working poor at Lake Eola on Sunday, April 11.

“Some people see it as a hand out… it’s more of a hand up,” said Adkins “Our goal is to return families to self-sufficiency so they won’t need the Destiny Foundation.”

The working poor are defined as families that make less than $25,000 a year. According to Adkins, there are over 300,000 to 350,000 working poor in Florida — a massive need in Central Florida that the Destiny Foundation was created to meet.

More than 1200 people showed up for the Easter at Eola service. In Adkins’s mind, the goal isn’t to “shove Jesus down your throat,” but to open the minds and hearts of families in need.

“We want to spend less time wagging our fingers and more time becoming the hands and feet of Jesus,” said Adkins. “People tend to open their hearts and minds when they know that your care.”

That is the philosophy of Adkins. The idea — above all — is to mimic Christ in helping out less fortunate families in the community.

But it doesn’t just stop at the community. The Destiny Foundation also reaches out abroad. The mission includes aid to Rwanda — a leap to help out impoverished people in Africa. Volunteers were able to contribute by building wells providing clean water to poor villages.

“There has been a dramatic increase in need because of this economic downturn,” said Adkins “We are thankful we can help.”