Pastor Hubert Quiller and the congregation at Restoration Worship Center in Richmond Hill has been involved with Family Promise of Bryan County since the program began in 2016. “Family Promise helps a lot of people, and my experience with them has been a really good one,” said Pastor Quiller. “One of our goals as a church is to be actively involved in the community, and working with Family Promise gives us a wonderful opportunity to do so.”
At first the church was not equipped to host families in its building so--along with several other small churches in the area--they served as a “support church,” providing selective services such as helping with meals for hosts churches. “In late 2018, we finally acquired enough room to become a host church for a full week approximately four times a year,” said Pastor Quiller. “On Sunday afternoon, someone would bring enough beds for the families to use for the week. Each day various church families would provide dinners and light breakfasts four our guests, and two volunteers would stay overnight in the building in case they needed something. Being able to see and interact with the families worked well for us. Most people generally want to help families who don’t have everything they need for the moment.”
Restoration Worship Center served as a host church until the end of 2019, when Family Promise opened its guest house at 177 Spruce Street, in Richmond Hill. Now they offer meals and other support on a similar rotating basis. As a former Family Promise Board member, Pastor Quiller believes hosting families in a centralized location is more convenient and offers much-needed continuity for families who have found themselves displaced. As a pastor, he reminds those who believe in the Word of God that they have a responsibility to help families and people in need. “The Bible says ‘the poor you will have with you always,’ which leads me to believe that, if the church doesn’t help those people, how can we expect anyone else to do so?”
Pastor Quiller is enthusiastic about working with Family Promise and expects his congregation to continue helping however they can for the foreseeable future because, as he says, “It’s what God would have us do as believers--and that’s Good News!”