LATHROP – A custom-made portable barbecue pit valued over $8,000 could steal the show at this crab feed fund-raiser.
This all-you-can-eat crab feed is the maiden offering of the Lathrop Christian Center. It will be held Saturday, Jan. 29, at the MRPS Hall in Manteca beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person.
Its mission: to generate as much money as they can possibly raise to build a facility for its kids and youth ministries. That’s why church members and volunteers are pulling out all the stops to make this event as successful as possible for the kids’ sake.
“The cool thing is we have over 30 raffle prizes, and every single one is at least worth $50,” said Arabella Whitlock, Lathrop Christian’s communications and creative arts pastor.
Every ministry group was asked to put together “a gift basket for $50 or more for a raffle,” she explained. “We got tons and tons of stuff.”
At least one of those ministry groups outdid itself.
“We have one ministry called Servants’ Hands. They do a lot of work for people around the church and also feed the poor and homeless people. They decided that instead of a gift basket, they made a custom mobile barbecue pit,” Whitlock said.
It’s already registered, she said, plus it comes with such enviable features as a four-rack smoker, and a CD stereo with a remote.
“It can cook 47 tri-tips at one time. It’s unbelievably gorgeous!” Whitlock added.
Two members of the ministry put in 200 hours building it while two others installed the CD stereo with remote. “They probably put in (a total of) 300 hours at least,” building the portable barbecue pit, she said.
This flexible and highly moveable cooking contraption is similar to the one that the men in Servants’ Hands have built for their ministry and are using it to do the Lord’s work on the road serving those who are less fortunate, not just in the Manteca and Lathrop area but in Stockton as well.
“They go to parks and cook sandwiches and feed the homeless. They go to Stockton under the (downtown freeway underpass). They feed the homeless wherever they can,” Whitlock said of the group’s work of mercy.
The two other big-ticket items that will be offered in the special raffle are a limited edition Wii and a 47-inch flat screen television set.
One prize for the evening does not even require anyone to buy any ticket to win it – a Blu-Ray disc player which will be given away as a door prize.
All proceeds generated from the crab feed will be used as seed money to build facilities for the church’s Youth and Kids’ Ministries.
The church is currently in the process of negotiating to buy a piece of land in Lathrop where they plan to build the facilities.
“We’re getting in the direction of getting that done,” Whitlock said.
The church itself does not have its own building yet. Pastor Eric Baca and his congregation are currently meeting in the gymnasium of Lathrop High School. They have been meeting there since Christmas.
Before that, the pastor led Sunday worship services at the Lathrop Elementary School gym where other church groups met as well. But soon, the congregation which is now 350 strong outgrew the elementary school gym, so they moved to the high school campus.
The elementary school’s gym was “a little bit smaller” but even now they are outgrowing the larger high school facility which the church is renting, Whitlock said.
But the rent is not cheap, “so we’re ready to plant our feet on solid ground, so to speak,” she said.
The church has its eye on a property in Lathrop and is hoping to secure the place sometime this year.
“We’re waiting for the Lord to work it out, whatever we could get. Eric’s an awesome pastor. He’s going to pray about it and seek out the right thing at the right time. But we feel this is the right time,” Whitlock said.
Raffle tickets will be $5 or $10 for an arm’s length of stubs.
For tickets to the crab feed, which includes the door prize entry for the Blu-Ray disc player, or for more information about the event, call the Lathrop Christian Center at (209) 858-1317. Or send an e-mail to connect@lcchome.net.
The all-you-can-eat crab (or tri-tip) meal will include spaghetti, Caesar salad, garlic bread and dessert.
MRPS Hall is located at 133 N. Grant Ave. in Manteca, the first block north of Yosemite Avenue. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6 p.m.
This all-you-can-eat crab feed is the maiden offering of the Lathrop Christian Center. It will be held Saturday, Jan. 29, at the MRPS Hall in Manteca beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person.
Its mission: to generate as much money as they can possibly raise to build a facility for its kids and youth ministries. That’s why church members and volunteers are pulling out all the stops to make this event as successful as possible for the kids’ sake.
“The cool thing is we have over 30 raffle prizes, and every single one is at least worth $50,” said Arabella Whitlock, Lathrop Christian’s communications and creative arts pastor.
Every ministry group was asked to put together “a gift basket for $50 or more for a raffle,” she explained. “We got tons and tons of stuff.”
At least one of those ministry groups outdid itself.
“We have one ministry called Servants’ Hands. They do a lot of work for people around the church and also feed the poor and homeless people. They decided that instead of a gift basket, they made a custom mobile barbecue pit,” Whitlock said.
It’s already registered, she said, plus it comes with such enviable features as a four-rack smoker, and a CD stereo with a remote.
“It can cook 47 tri-tips at one time. It’s unbelievably gorgeous!” Whitlock added.
Two members of the ministry put in 200 hours building it while two others installed the CD stereo with remote. “They probably put in (a total of) 300 hours at least,” building the portable barbecue pit, she said.
This flexible and highly moveable cooking contraption is similar to the one that the men in Servants’ Hands have built for their ministry and are using it to do the Lord’s work on the road serving those who are less fortunate, not just in the Manteca and Lathrop area but in Stockton as well.
“They go to parks and cook sandwiches and feed the homeless. They go to Stockton under the (downtown freeway underpass). They feed the homeless wherever they can,” Whitlock said of the group’s work of mercy.
The two other big-ticket items that will be offered in the special raffle are a limited edition Wii and a 47-inch flat screen television set.
One prize for the evening does not even require anyone to buy any ticket to win it – a Blu-Ray disc player which will be given away as a door prize.
All proceeds generated from the crab feed will be used as seed money to build facilities for the church’s Youth and Kids’ Ministries.
The church is currently in the process of negotiating to buy a piece of land in Lathrop where they plan to build the facilities.
“We’re getting in the direction of getting that done,” Whitlock said.
The church itself does not have its own building yet. Pastor Eric Baca and his congregation are currently meeting in the gymnasium of Lathrop High School. They have been meeting there since Christmas.
Before that, the pastor led Sunday worship services at the Lathrop Elementary School gym where other church groups met as well. But soon, the congregation which is now 350 strong outgrew the elementary school gym, so they moved to the high school campus.
The elementary school’s gym was “a little bit smaller” but even now they are outgrowing the larger high school facility which the church is renting, Whitlock said.
But the rent is not cheap, “so we’re ready to plant our feet on solid ground, so to speak,” she said.
The church has its eye on a property in Lathrop and is hoping to secure the place sometime this year.
“We’re waiting for the Lord to work it out, whatever we could get. Eric’s an awesome pastor. He’s going to pray about it and seek out the right thing at the right time. But we feel this is the right time,” Whitlock said.
Raffle tickets will be $5 or $10 for an arm’s length of stubs.
For tickets to the crab feed, which includes the door prize entry for the Blu-Ray disc player, or for more information about the event, call the Lathrop Christian Center at (209) 858-1317. Or send an e-mail to connect@lcchome.net.
The all-you-can-eat crab (or tri-tip) meal will include spaghetti, Caesar salad, garlic bread and dessert.
MRPS Hall is located at 133 N. Grant Ave. in Manteca, the first block north of Yosemite Avenue. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6 p.m.
