Most of our day-to-day lives are busy, but at the end of a busy day we can always count on our beds being there to give us a place to lay our heads for some needed rest. Some families in Oklahoma do not have that luxury.

This is where bed ministries, like the one set up at Bethel, New Hope, come in, providing families in need with a place to comfortably rest their heads.

In 2022, Bethel, New Hope went on a mission trip to La Feria, Texas where they worked with a church ministry called Heart 4 Kids which plants churches and provides for the needs of churches and families in Southern Texas.

While in Texas, New Hope assisted in constructing beds for children in need — the spark that would ignite and motivate the church to do more.

“That was our initial introduction into the building beds ministry,” said Judy Sherrin, ReNewHope Bed Ministry point person. “We said, ‘We’d like to do that,’ and we went back in January of 2023 to have (Heart 4 Kids) teach us the operation. We came back on fire and were ready for this to happen.”

ReNewHope’s belief is that every child should have a bed in which to sleep. While they primarily serve Pottawatomie County, ReNewHope has also served families in Lincoln County, Oklahoma City and Norman, if the need is dire.

ReNewHope is connected to families through 111 Project, which exists to connect churches to families in need, and has been serving families since early last year.

“New Hope has been a friend of ours,” said 111 Project Executive Director Chris Campbell. “We can’t be more joyed to hear that they’ve taken off.”

In August 2023, New Hope invited Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) students to come help build beds on service days. Seeing the need for beds, OBU offered to donate beds, dressers and other furniture to New Hope, an offer that was gladly accepted.

“After the (April 19, 2023) tornado, we lost all of our storage space, so in May, we started giving to non-profits,” said Shannon Hester, OBU Controller.

So far, OBU has donated drawers, dressers, beds, mattresses and more to ReNewHope. This partnership between OBU and ReNewHope has been ongoing behind the scenes since May 10, and in that time they have helped 40 families’ needs while building relationships at the same time.

“It’s brought a lot of joy for me,” said Hester. “It’s been exciting to go and help these families and help these organizations help the families. There are families that have nothing and even though they may not know this furniture came from OBU, it’s helping them and we’re building community that way.”

Every delivery made by ReNewHope is special. It gives the families served two kinds of comfort: a soft bed to sleep on at night and the comfort of knowing that they have people looking out for them.

Sherrin recalled the very first delivery made by ReNewHope was to three kids who had been re-homed to their grandparents’ house. While New Hope set up the beds, the kids were right in the middle of the action, fascinated by their very first beds. ReNewHope also provided bed sheets and quilts to go over the beds, and when they brought the quilts in the kids grabbed them and held on tight.

“We couldn’t put them on the bed because they wouldn’t let go of them,” Sherrin said. “The oldest boy said,

‘This is the first bed we’ve ever had; we’ve never had a bed before,’ and I said, ‘Well this is your bed now and you get to keep it.’”

“Every delivery has something special. People are touched by the generosity, but this is God’s gift and we tell them that,” said Sherrin.

ReNewHope’s mission is ongoing and they are working with 111 Project, OBU and others to help provide for these families. For more information or to contact ReNewHope, visit www.newhopebethel.com/missions/.