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Pastor Freddrick Hardy at Faith Church had a vision for his congregation to reach Selma and Dallas County by being able to meet the material needs of residents in Selma and Dallas County.

Now through partnerships with the Selma Chamber of Commerce and the Selma Area Food Bank, the church is seeing that vision come to full fruition.

To celebrate the fulfillment of that vision, Faith Church held a celebration Wednesday morning to show off their new food pantry and to celebrate the goodness of God.

Faith Church Outreach Ministry leader Tonia Lewis said she has been amazed to see how the church embraced the vision.

“We just ran with his vision that God gave him, that we needed to be a blessing to the community,” Lewis said. “This has been something that’s been going on for years in house. Now we’re taking it more out the house so that we can let people know that we are in the neighborhood, we are present, and we are ready to serve and help them.”

Faith Church has two other locations. It’s main campus is located in Montgomery, and they also have a Clanton campus. According to its mission statement, Faith Church remains committed to meeting the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of thousands of residents of Selma.

Hardy said that wants the community to know that they are here to help.

“We are here to serve the city of Selma and the Dallas County area,” Hardy said. “And we want to make sure that this area knows that God has people who love like He loves.”

Dallas County Probate Judge said he thanked the church for their vision to be a blessing to the community.

“The more you give, the more there’s a need out,” Nunn said. “And dealing with the poverty level that we have here in Dallas County, we need what you are doing in this community. So, we thank you for the vision. We thank you for everything that you have done here in Dallas County and the city of Selma.”

Lewis said the partnership with the food bank is a win-win situation. They are able to purchase items from the food bank at a reduced cost, and the food bank is able to turn around and purchase more food that will be distributed to their partners throughout the community.

“The partnership is amazing because not only are we able to partner with them to help them accomplish the vision that they set forth within their organization, it also helps us as well,” Lewis said. “It is a cohesive partnership. It’s been a blessing.”

The on-site pantry will be open twice a month on Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. starting March 5 (every other Wednesday). It will be an appointment-based system only with in-person pickup.

They also have a monthly food giveaway. The church’s next mobile pantry will be March 12 for the community to drive through.

For more information or to schedule a pickup, residents may call the church at 334-431-5189, Tonia Lewis at 334-431-2411 or Johnny Lewis at 334-413-9467. They may also send an email to tonia.lewis@faithchurchanywhere.net.