A North Carolina church will serve 1,000 families free Thanksgiving meals this week as part of their annual drive-through charity giveaway.

Lawndale Baptist Church of Greensboro, North Carolina, is hosting the annual "Feeding the 5,000" event this week.

Each Thanksgiving dinner given out will serve five people. The giveaway is inspired by Jesus' feeding of the 5,000.

"Jesus, during His early ministry, fed over 5000 at a teaching he did as told in Matthew 14:13-21," said Jimmy Jackson, pastor of administrative and missions of the church. "As Christians, we believe that we are to meet the needs of our community and be a good neighbor, just as Jesus did and taught."

Former Pastor Joe Giaritelli started the annual event, which has been held for 15 years. Each Thanksgiving bag will include a frozen turkey, a $25 gift card to Food Lion, evangelism tracts, and information about upcoming church events.

"The biggest thing we want our community to take away from this event is [that] Jesus loves them more than they could ever fathom," Jackson told CP.

"We do this event each year in the name of Christ and for His glory. We also want our community to know that we, Lawndale Baptist, are there for them and love them. If our community sees us modeling Christ, Christ gets all the glory."

The North Carolina church is one of many churches and charities offering Thanksgiving dinners to families in need.

Matthew's Table handed out about 375 meals earlier this week in Owensboro, Kentucky.

"(People) are hurting. There are, as I said, a lot of challenges that folks deal with this time of year. So, just the opportunity to come and get loved on. We don't care where you come from or what your background is. We just want to offer you a little hope in what can be a challenging time this time of year."

In Atlanta, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church handed out meals to some 2,000 families.

"We're glad to be a part of helping our community. We know that it's a tough time. This economy is out of control, but we know that God is in control, and we're proud to be a helper for our neighbors," Pastor Carla Stokes said.

source