The Daily Vine

04/17/2025

Time to support a worthy effort in Cherokee County: American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

08/16/2024

Have you heard about Building Fires? Check out this fun event on Aug. 31, hear the amazing Kurt Lee Wheeler, and see how you can make a difference in a young person’s life! www.buildingfires.com

07/16/2024

Here’s a chance to help MUST Ministries.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/djSNdKiu89Adb6Li/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Vote for MUST Ministries and help us win a Charity Navigator Community Choice Award! Vote now: https://bit.ly/MUSTVOTECN24

MUST is honored to be nominated for a Charity Navigator Community Choice Award in the Large-sized category! Your support can make a huge difference in the lives of our neighbors in need. Let's show the world the impact we can make together! Vote now and don't forget to share this post with your friends and family. Together, we can make a difference!

07/03/2024

With roots in Cherokee County, this Venezuelan ministry is on pace to turn the world upside down for the Lord.
Venezuela Now, a Christian U.S. nonprofit created to reach the lost of Venezuela, was founded by a Cherokee County native, Dr. Warren Lathem.
So what could a Cherokee County “Chicken Catcher” and Venezuela possibly have in common? Warren was raised in the very homogeneous community of Lathemtown in Eastern Cherokee County. In the mid-1960s, his work catching chickens was one of the few jobs to be found in the county, which then claimed to be the poultry capital. His experience of life in Latin America was confined to Speedy Gonzalez cartoons.
The story of this ministry began when a young Venezuelan pastor came into his office in 1994 and asked Warren to teach him. In 1996, he, Dr. Lathem’s son, Ray, and 108 others were killed in the ValuJet crash in Miami. Carlos and Ray were returning from a mission trip to Venezuela.
Warren first traveled there in 1998 to preach an evangelistic crusade. That resulted in the beginning of an expansive ministry.
He and others first founded the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela. This undergraduate theological school has trained more than 1,000 new clergy and lay leaders. In partnership with the International Leadership Institute, another Georgia non-profit, they have trained more than 6,000 Christian leaders in Venezuela. The seminary has been the incubator for hundreds of new ministries. Here are a few of the most prominent ones.
1. The Methodist Church of Venezuela was founded in 2007. Eleven small churches bound together to launch this new denomination. Today it has about 60 churches in Venezuela and has planted several more in other countries including the U.S. with an excess of 10,000 members. At their last annual conference in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, 2,500 participants worshiped and worked together for three days.
2. The Wesley Medical Centers were birthed by a seminary graduate in 2014. Six centers will serve 25,000 patients this year. The latest addition is a very modern mobile clinic which just began its work serving very poor communities. Venezuela Now provides all medicines, equipment, supplies and facilities.
3. Una Esperanza (One Hope), a ministry of the Medical Centers, provides prenatal and postnatal care for very poor women and children. About 150 young mothers are served each month. Fifty children a month are given infant formula because they are orphaned or their mothers cannot produce milk.
4. 150 Feeding Stations were established by the churches providing meals to the poorest folks. Since starting this, more than five million meals have been served; this year, they will serve about one million meals. This ministry often partners with another Cherokee County ministry, SERV International. President Steve Kasha was a student of Dr. Lathem.
Most recently, Venezuela Now has opened five Christian elementary schools and plans to open two more in the fall of 2024. Venezuela’s educational system has been devastated by economic and political realities.
As many of you know, millions have immigrated from Venezuela. To date more than 7.7 million have fled the country. This has created a crisis in other countries such as the U.S., but also in Venezuela. Every aspect of life in Venezuela has been impacted, especially education, medical care, business, and churches.
This fall, the seminary is launching a remote learning program, Panorama, to train a new group of young pastors in the most basic tools needed to lead the church where often a vacuum of leadership has been created by immigration.
What has Warren Lathem gotten out of this? “It is the most significant ministry of my life. The last 25 years have opened new doors for service I never dreamed of,” he said. “It’s a long way from the poultry industry of Cherokee County to the humble home of a Venezuelan single mother. But it has been pure joy.”
Today Warren and Jane Lathem have a Venezuelan daughter-in-law, Lim, married to their son, Jared. The couple serves as pastors at the New Beginnings Global Methodist Church in Kennesaw. They have four wonderful Venezuelan-American grandchildren.
Warren, retired at 72, spends his days writing. He has published 15 books. When he is not writing, he is raising money for this ministry. This year, Venezuela Now needs to raise about $1 million. That keeps him busy.
To find some of his published works, go to www.lulu.com and search Warren Lathem. One book of special interest to Cherokee County is “Tears Did Not Fall.” It is a recounting of the life of a boy in the 1950s and 1960s in Lathemtown. Available in print or ebook.
Venezuela Now, Inc.
PO Box 2855, Acworth, GA. 30102
404-502-5678
[email protected]
www.venezuelanow.org

06/23/2024

You couldn’t ask for anyone who works harder than Jim Lindenmayer and the volunteers with Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program.

Did you know? Cherokee County's Homeless Veterans program has successfully housed over 50 veterans since its inception in 2018, providing crucial support and resources to those who have served our country.

06/20/2024

Bethesda Community Clinic is hosting a fundraiser - your support will allow more under and un-insured in our community to get the medical attention they need!

11/20/2023

Is food something you take for granted? Help those who may not have enough.

SERV International
https://servone.org/give/
SERV is a passionate group of monthly givers on a mission to identify and serve food to families with the greatest needs, locally and globally. For a commitment of just $35 a month, you can provide a food box designed to feed a family of four for a week right here in Cherokee County! We are looking for 800 individuals and organizations to join us in our mission to reach the needs in our local community. You also have the opportunity to join us in packing these food boxes each month in our warehouse, located in Canton. For volunteer opportunities, email [email protected]

GIVE TODAY GIVING ONLINE IS THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GIFT TO SERV. Your donation will be used as a platform to share the love of Christ through our local and global programs. All Donations made here go to the SERV One fund which fuels the mission of SERV International.   Giving Needs...

11/18/2023

Be an angel for these precious women.

North Georgia Angel House
www.angelhousega.com
The organization has served girls since 2006, by providing shelter, life skills, job readiness services, family support and more, for up to 40 females at a time. Current needs include: MP3 players, gift cards for activities, books for the teen library, make-up supplies (no glass), shaving cream and razors, locker combination locks and hair products. To help with service projects at the Angel House, call 770-479-9555, Ext. 105.

Giving Girls Roots. Giving Girls Wings.

11/16/2023

If you haven't seen this outreach in action, drive by and check it out.

Meals for Woodstock
https://www.woodstockga.gov/about/outreach.php
Hot meals are provided for free by donations and volunteers, 4-6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of the month at Vingenzo's on East Main Street in downtown Woodstock. Other restaurants are encouraged to get involved in the community collaboration by contacting the Woodstock Office of Economic Development. To support the effort with a monetary contribution, visit the website; 100% of funds raised go to the purchase of food for the program.

Woodstock, GA

11/16/2023

Look what the hands and feet of Christ will be doing in Woodstock in a few weeks!

Thanks for participating in our Local Gift Card Giveaway. Please look for someone in a First Baptist Woodstock "How Can I Pray For You" shirt on Friday, December 8th, between the hours of 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in downtown Woodstock. Introduce yourself and show them your confirmation email. This opportu...

11/15/2023

Share God's love through Christmas gifts.

Goshen Valley Foundation
www.goshenvalley.org/wishlist
Goshen Valley Boys Ranch attempts to provide a memorable Christmas experience for foster children, with the community’s help. This includes building traditions, talking about the true meaning of Christmas, as well as fulfilling young people's wants and needs through gift giving and teaching them that they are loved. With 42 kids to purchase gifts for, Goshen Valley relies on the generosity of the community to fulfill these wishes. A list of gifts has been compiled on the Amazon website through a charity wish list. For details, visit www.goshenvalley.org/wishlist, email Executive Director Stacy Cooper at [email protected] or call 770-796-4618 for a link to view gifts the boys have requested.

Goshen needs your help providing Christmas gifts to our 125 foster youth this year! Click any of the 3 wishlists to buy or fund a gift for a child this year.