One person’s junk is another person’s treasure, right? At least that’s what we are hoping for at our church’s annual rummage sale. Every year, Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette, Ind., holds a huge rummage sale where you’re sure to find something to suit your fancy, from overstuffed chairs to kitchen gadgets, baby toys, clothes and more. The congregation’s annual rummage sale serves a twofold mission: to reach out to our community in a unique way as well as to help offset the financial cost of an adoptive family within our church body.

Two days out of the year, the sanctuary and fellowship hall are filled to capacity with accumulated rummage and an eclectic gathering of people from surrounding neighborhoods. We view this as a chance to meet those in our community who love a good rummage sale but who perhaps would never visit our church otherwise. We rub shoulders with families looking for a good deal on a cheap couch who, in turn, walk out with an invitation to our upcoming vacation Bible school. Many of our youth volunteer in the kitchen serving a simple lunch or coffee or donuts to hungry shoppers. Hours are spent in the week prior to the rummage sale organizing and categorizing the plethora of items. Several helpers spend a few hours throughout the day refolding clothes, repositioning items, helping carry a random box for someone, or chatting for a few minutes with a young mom trying to decide which toy is best for her child. We pray that the connections we have been given with so many people will be fruitful.

Not only do we get to meet those in our community and have a good time together as a church family, but we are able to use the proceeds from the sale to help those in our church who are in the process of adopting. My husband and I have been on the receiving end of this blessing, and we cannot be more grateful. With the cost of international adoption being overwhelmingly high, we have appreciated Immanuel RPC’s generosity in allowing the rummage sale proceeds to help us bring our daughter home from Haiti. In Christian circles we often hear, “The Lord will provide,” and I have found myself believing this truth and yet wondering how that looks. We are privileged and humbled to see a truly tangible way of God’s provision!

When the rummage is cleared away and the chairs and pews are back in place, we know we have had the unique chance to not only help one family with their adoption but also meet many in our community. We pray they didn’t just find the right “material treasure” they were looking for, but that they also found a church home where they feel welcome.

—Rachel Gardner