REACH Ministries and Tony Campolo

In early August, I finally got to see Tony Campolo preach in person.

Tony Campolo is my favorite evangelist. He tells the most wonderful, real stories, and I really appreciate his insights and challenges into how I live. I have listened to Tony's sermons again and again in my car, but I wondered if I would ever see him preach in person. (He's over 75 now.)

Fortunately, Tony came to Seattle to speak at a fundraiser for REACH Ministries. REACH is a Christian-centered charity that reaches out to children with HIV/AIDS and their families. REACH seems like a wonderful group, but honestly I was motivated to go to the fundraiser because of Tony.

The fundraiser was held at Overlake Christian Church and was a "dessert auction." Local vendors donated desserts, like the cupcakes on the left. We sat in tables, and each table pooled their money to bid on a dessert.

My Auntie Nancy and my roommate Peter also came to the fundraiser. Auntie Nancy really wanted the cake shown on the left. It had marzipan in it. The rest of our table was split on some other cakes, but the marzipan cake came up early in the auction. I think our table leader saw how excited Nancy was about this cake, so she bid on it.

When giving to charities, I sometimes wonder why we need an excuse to give money. By excuse, I mean, for example: running for charity, Girl Scout Cookies for charity, bowling for charity, raffles for charity, dessert auctions for charity. Why can't we just give directly to the charity and save them some time and energy? Are we really so selfish? Or are we really so easily fooled?

Well, at least in this case, I suppose the answers are "Yes" and "Yes." I didn't know how much money we'd need to win our cake, but since it was the cake Auntie Nancy wanted, and since it was for a good cause, and, yes, since I like winning, it definitely made it easier to pledge a larger amount to REACH. (I was writing a check, and I thought we had to write them out before the auction. It was a little confusing.)

Our table leader kept outbidding the other tables for the cake, and, in the end, we won with a bid of over $300! (Suggested retail price: $35-$50.)

At that price, I think the cake deserves a second picture.

From REACH event

Actually, the cake was quite delicious.

And of course, it was for a good cause.

On the left is Auntie Nancy. On the right is one of our partners in bidding!





Throughout the evening there were some very good testimonies from REACH. After the auction, Tony spoke. I pledged a little more again after that. :)

On Tony's website, there are some sermons you can listen to. But if you like reading, here is a transcript of one of Tony's sermons. Actually, I read that transcript before hearing any of Tony's sermons, and it had a profound impact on me.

The REACH website is here.