Servants Honoring Servants – Epoch Awards 2011
I had the honor of attending the first annual Epoch Awards this week on behalf of the organization I serve, Food for the Hungry, at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. This event was extremely well put together and hosted by Jon Acuff & Naomi Zacharias. This event was masterminded by an amazing short term missions organization Adventures in Missions (AIM), with the goal to serve and honor their peers in full time ministry and missions without putting any attention to themselves. Not only were the nominees honored amongst their peers for their humanitarian and kingdom work, some were also presented various grants to assist them in their ministry endeavors. Wow, what a concept that we don’t see often, huh? People who are actually in need helping and serving others in the same way. Usually when I attend gala style events like this, I’m expecting to hear the vision and passion of ONE organization, and how I can engage and support in that ONE organization. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this time I was able to learn about over 18 different organizations that are making a huge impact all over the world, as opposed to just ONE. Some by raising serious money through technology efforts, serving individuals and communities through several aspect of athletics, as well as putting a major dent in alleviating the death toll caused by HIV AIDS in Africa, along with so many more. I stood humbled and inspired while in the midst of so many selfless and giving individuals in this room. I wish you all could have been there to experience the stories that I heard about various individuals as well as the energy in the room to serve the kingdom of God by serving and speaking on behalf of those around them in need and that those that can’t speak up for themselves.
I thought I would list below the organizations and individuals that were involved and honored during this great evening. It’s amazing to see them all connecting and linking arms in ministry in this way!
Performers & Speakers that were a part of the event were Aaron Keyes (music & worship), Amena Brown (spoken word), Bill High (keynote).
Honorees:
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Justin Miller | CARE FOR AIDS, INC
Kim Pace | BLUESKY CAMP
Charles Kaye | THEBRIDGE
INNOVATIVE START-UP
Carl & Laura Ralston | REMEMBER NHU
Timothy O’Mara |BELTLINE BIKE SHOP
Nicole Marett |RADIANT COSTMETICS
CREATIVITY
Tom & Cindy Bauer | SURFING THE NATIONS
Bryan Kaiser | GOD’S EYES
Brett Durbin | TRASH MOUNTAIN
COLLABORATIVE
Shaun King | TWITCHANGE
Bishop Truman L. Martin, DDS | MARANATHA COMM. CHURCH
June Blanshan | IGNITE SOUTH AFRICA, INC
LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS
ANDREA BAKER | word made flesh
MARY FRANCES BOWLEY | wellsprings living
JOHN SOWERS | the mentoring project
RESTORING PLACES
Penny Compton | OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES
Rev. Dr. Edward Glover | URBAN IMPACT
Hugues Bastien | CHILDREN IN NEED
Keep up the amazing work guys and gals. You ARE making a difference!
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:: I AM A :: triathlete :: connector :: dreamer :: photographer :: blogger :: dad :: husband :: musician :: outdoorsman :: artist relations guy FH.org :: lover of life & people
Daniel,
I am so proud of everything that you do to make this world a better place. That's why I'm going to do my "small" part to make some senior citizens in the area have a better life. I was watching the news last night, and they said 250 senior citizens in my area are shut-ins, and have no family that visits them. They depend on Meals on Wheels for their only meal of the day. Funds have been cut, so many go hungry each day.
I am going to send a monthly contribution from now on in my Mother's name, and in Yours.
Thank you for having such a beautiful heart, and reminding people that a small gift makes a huge difference.
Nana
Awe Diane, I think this is a great idea. You always talk about helping others in more need than yourself. I'm so glad to hear you doing this. I hope that others will read our chat and it'll spur them on to find a need around them other than their own and step up and make a difference. There's a lot to do.Love ya!
Love this, Daniel! 'Servants honoring servants' is a great summary of what the night was all about. Didn't you wish you could have those "interesting conversations" with everyone in the room?!
Yes, I sure do Alece. However the ones at my table should keep me inspired for quite a while.Sent from my iPhone
Thanks for the kind words, Daniel. I re-posted to my blog. It was good to meet you. Look forward to collaborating in the future!
Wow Seth, thanks for the re-post. That's humbling for sure. I appreciate all that you and your team do. Hope to see you soon.
Daniel,
I'm linking to this post in my article tomorrow. Check it out! I think we can all learn to give back more and this post is a good example of that so I wanted to share it with my readers. This is a great list of servants serving servants.