When board member John Keighley mentioned holding a blood drive for Summit Northwest Ministries Church in Post Falls, Idaho, Ron Hessel, senior pastor, challenged him to make it happen.
Keighley took the ball and ran with it, holding the first blood drive about three years ago during the Christmas season. The response was so great they did it again at Easter and again the following Christmas.
Now three years strong, this year's event saw 44 members signed up to donate blood. The Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) needed to bring two of their buses to handle the response. This year they also brought out the bone-marrow match team, which 12 people joined.
On the donation day, people who have signed up to donate voluntarily miss one service or Sabbath School. Summit Northwest holds two Sabbath services, and the blood drive happens from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The blood bank is thankful for the participation of this church. Over the last three years Summit Northwest Ministries has been leading all church blood drives in the Inland Northwest. INBC's Rob Balison says, “Thank you for your selfless donations and making everyday moments possible within our communities.”
Only the love that flows from the heart of Christ can heal. Only he in whom that love flows, even as the sap in the tree or the blood in the body, can restore the wounded soul. As Ellen White says, "Love's agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine" (Education, p. 114).
Summit Northwest Ministries is the top church donating blood to INBC.
Bob Brewer, a physical therapist from Chewelah, Wash., and a Summit Northwest Ministries member, is giving life.
