Advertisement

Myrtle Lake church's Christmas Mall brings holiday cheer to those without

 
Published Dec. 18, 2014

For Mark Hughes, youth pastor at Myrtle Lake Baptist Church in Land O'Lakes, Christmas shopping means more than fighting crowds and finding sales.

In December 2013, Hughes launched Christmas Mall, a ministry allowing families in need to shop for holiday gifts free of charge.

For one day, the fellowship hall at Myrtle Lake is transformed into a department store. Parents browse new toys and electronics for wish list treasures, free of financial pressures. Caroling volunteers wrap gifts and load cars.

Last year, church members donated enough items to provide 215 children with presents, Hughes said.

And they will do it again on Saturday, when Christmas Mall 2014 welcomes select families from Pasco and Hillsborough counties to the church, at 2017 Reigler Road.

I spoke to Hughes about the event and the joy of giving.

What inspired Christmas Mall?

My wife and I came to Myrtle Lake from New Life Church in Arkansas, where we led a similar event. We saw how it benefited families, and we wanted to get it going here. The difference is here we not only help the families at Christmas, but at Thanksgiving we do a turkey delivery.

It is an amazing thing to be able to give and ask nothing in return. That is what the Gospel is really about — going above and beyond.

How are families selected?

One way is people call in and ask. We do a brief phone interview to learn how we can help and what the situation is for the family. It may be someone that lost their job or whose spouse passed away. There are so many reasons why people find themselves in need. We also receive recommendations from other organizations, church members and friends.

We seek out families who otherwise would go without. When we do the turkey handout, we sometimes just spot a house that looks like a family may be in need. We knock on the door and ask if they need help. About nine out of 10 times, they say they do.

For a lot of these families, the kids have never had a Christmas where they received a gift. What I love about Christmas Mall is the look on peoples' faces when they realize they are getting to shop for free, and the kids never need to know the gifts came from donations.

What areas are targeted by the outreach?

It stretches all through Pasco, from Zephyrhills to New Port Richey, and even into Hillsborough County. My wife is a schoolteacher in New Port Richey. She knew of a lot of families that could benefit in that area. We also have families from Spring Hill and even the Brandon area.

What did people donate to the mall this year?

We have remote-control trucks, life-size dolls, even a robotic dinosaur that you can sit on that moves and makes sounds. Right now, all of our donations come from church members. We take inventory of the gifts then take any money donated, and I take the youth group shopping for gifts to fill in the gaps.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

In future years, we want to expand the outreach so donations come from the community and businesses as well. In Arkansas we were able to provide gifts for more than 1000 children because the community got involved.

Sarah Whitman is a Times correspondent. Contact her at sarahrothwhitman@gmail.com.