Santa's Shoes
December 14, 2024
Santa's Shoes
Jump in this Christmas and be a part of Santa’s Shoes! We are collecting 400 brand new pairs of sneakers for Pritchardville Elementary School students. You can drop off your new shoes any time between now and Sunday, December 8th. You can also order shoes from our Amazon Wishlist and have them sent directly to Venture Church!
You can also register to serve with us as we take the families of Pritchardville Elementary through the Santa’s Shoes shopping experience plus pictures with Bluffton Santa on Saturday, December 14th.
The Love With No Agenda Initiative
The Love with No Agenda Initiative is the outreach initiative of Venture Church, which is the way that we serve the community outside of our Sunday morning worship gatherings. The very first words that came to mind when Lead Pastor Shaun Olsen was dreaming of what Venture Church would look like were love with no agenda – The vision for this core value would be that Venture becomes a place that loved people without any strings attached, or expecting anything in return. This value statement is the foundation of the Love with No Agenda Initiative: We see people where they are, love people where they are, and serve people where they are.
Our Heart For Our City
The very first time that Venture Church held a public gathering was not to launch a church service – In fact, it was to rally people together to help neighbors hang storm shutters and pray before evacuating the lowcountry from Hurricane Florence in 2018. Since that day, serving the cities where we call home has been at the heart of who we are as Venture Church – Ultimately, we believe that we exist to serve God by serving others.
Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Serving Our Schools
Since we opened our doors, we’ve built relationships with local schools to meet their practical needs, serve their students, and show them what the life-changing love of Jesus looks like. As of 2023, in Beaufort County alone there are 32 schools that serve 21,283 students and their families, and these schools employ 1,738 teachers. Of those 32 schools, 17 of them are Title I schools.
The Love with No Agenda Initiative is humbled and excited to have been given a wide-open door to serve our city through several public schools in various ways throughout the school year:
At Robert Smalls Leadership Academy in Beaufort, the Love with No Agenda Initiative hosts seasonal Block Parties for students and their families to enjoy games, food, crafts, and connection in an uplifting environment curated by our Dream Team. RSLA’s teachers and administrators also receive brand-new school supplies due to the generosity of the Venture Church family.
At Pritchardville Elementary School in Bluffton – the school that Venture Church launched from – we have cultivated a years-long relationship with the administrators and principal so that the Love with No Agenda Initiative can meet the practical needs of their students and their families. Our biggest outreach event of the year is held at PVES, and this event is none other than Santa’s Shoes! At Santa’s Shoes, students and their families can come shop in a shoe-store environment filled with hundreds of pairs of brand-new shoes. Led by a member of the Dream Team, students can pick out, try on, and test drive a new pair of sneakers to take home that same day; the PVES community also lovingly contributes brand-new backpacks for students to pick out alongside their teachers! As families exit the “shoe store,” they can grab hot cocoa, cookies, and even have a professional photo taken with Santa Claus.
The Love with No Agenda Initiative has also excitedly served in other local schools like Okatie Elementary School and the University of South Carolina – Beaufort.
Get Involved
In addition to serving in our local schools, the Love with No Agenda Initiative sends teams all over the lowcountry and Coastal Empire to serve people in need. Whether you’re helping to serve a fresh lunch to a man experiencing homelessness in Savannah, Georgia, making homemade breakfast for veterans, or praying over the Venture Church property in preparation for our Sunday gatherings, there is no shortage of ways to get involved in serving with the Love with No Agenda Initiative – There's a place for all people to get involved!
Upcoming Opportunities To Serve
The Love with No Agenda Initiative isn’t restricted to just the Venture Church family – Wherever you call your church home, all are invited to join the Love with No Agenda Initiative! Browse our upcoming opportunities to serve and register here to serve on the Dream Team with the Love with No Agenda Initiative.
Want More Info?
We’re here to help answer any questions you have about the Love with No Agenda Initiative! Whether you want to serve, want to learn more, or have a specific need, reach out to us using the form below.