Providence Baptist's First-Year Pastor, Congregants Reflect on Christmas Day Outreach Dinner

He knew as a young boy he wanted to be a preacher. For David Goforth, that journey continued 12 months ago with his appointment to a ministry in Greater Brandon at the Providence Baptist Church in Riverview.

"I've never wanted to do anything else," said Goforth, whose previous job was as a youth minister in South Carolina. "I told them in kindergarten I wanted to be a preacher."

Goforth, married to Daye and the father of five girls, recounted his initial observations of the Florida church that would become his mission and his first job as head pastor.

"I didn't know there was a Riverview, Florida, or even a Brandon," he said Christmas Day, at the "Feeding the Homeless and Needy" community outreach dinner hosted by his congregation, with Cynthia Pinckney Ministries, in the church's school gymnasium.

Inside, the atmosphere was inviting; outside, the temperatures hovered in the '70's.

"I grew up in Michigan," Goforth said. "This is a summer day where I grew up."

What he witnessed at the community outreach dinner didn't surprise him a bit.

"If you're inside the church you get taken care of," Goforth said. "There may be people hurting but you don't go without. I learned that when I got here. If you stay hidden (with your needs) they'll notice it and jump in and help. This is a loving bunch."

The holiday dinner, though, was not about helping those within the fold.

"Our goal today was to help the community," Goforth said as the two-hour holiday meal wrapped up at 5 p.m. "Our goal was to minister to those outside the church. We want to continue this ministry, with food banks and such. The need is 365 days a year, not one day a year."

Sarah Rollman, with her sister and friends, volunteered at a table set up with toys to distribute. Down the line from her were tables likewise stacked with blankets, toiletries, socks, underwear, clothes and shoes.

"It's  great ministry to show people in the community how much we care about them and show God's love on Christmas Day," Rollman said.

"It's something special to do for Christmas," said Kathy Goldman. "I wasn't having a big family get-together today, or at least not one that would take all day, and I attend Providence (so I came here)."

"Like her, my kids are grown and they have their other in-laws to go visit," said Cheri Lively, who worked with Goldman at a distribution table and attends the First Baptists Church of Brandon. "We did our Christmas earlier and I needed something else to do today so I thought, 'Why not come here?' "

The event traces its roots to a conversation church member Pete Madson had with Cynthia Pinckney, who was dining in the restaurant Madson manages, the Golden Corral on Providence Road. Madson said he was looking to do something to help feed the hungry and Pinckney said that was the goal of her ministry, Cynthia Pinckney Ministries.

"It's a good time to kick off, with a holiday meal, because everybody is more in tune to helping," Madson said.

But moving forward, he added, the church is going to "target other times of the year when others aren't doing it." As Madson put it: "The need is year-round."

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