This was a good article about Paul and Food for Life Ministries in the Greenville News last Wednesday. I included it in this post in case anyone missed it.
He was a late Blumer, but he's at top speed now.
Paul Blumer, a restless 32 when he became a Christian, is now a 42-year-old entrepreneur brimming with enthusiasm and energy. He pours much of that energy into his catering/cafe business in Taylors, where he is executive chef in an operation that prepares about 4,000 meals a week.
By 6 p.m. each Tuesday, Blumer is investing energy into the Food for Life ministry. Now in its 10th year, the ministry matches both of Blumer's greatest passions — serving good food and encouraging spiritual growth.
Each week, Blumer joins about 15-20 volunteers — including wife Charity and parents Mark and Bonnie Blumer — to prepare and serve a meal to any hungry souls who might arrive at the Triune Mercy Center, on Rutherford Street near downtown Greenville. The meal, and the opportunity to talk about spiritual matters, is offered freely. The Tuesday meal is one of three the nondenominational mission church serves each week as part of its ministry to the homeless.
Blumer, who had worked in the Greenville food industry since his teen years, got the idea for his work with the homeless shortly after his spiritual awakening in October 2000.
“I had a vision for a ministry called ‘Food for Life.' The ministry would feed the spirit, soul and body of a person,” says Blumer, who began the process by leading Bible studies in Carpenter's Cellar coffee shop on Main Street. With help from other volunteers, he assembled backpacks filled with Bibles, blankets and personal hygiene items and offered them to the homeless and needy.
As he began to build relationships with homeless men and women, his ministry stretched to other nights of the week. Often, he would take leftover food from Strossner's Bakery, where he then worked as a manager, and distribute it to anyone he happened to spot on cold winter nights along Washington Avenue.
As the Bible study grew to nearly 50 from zero — he was alone on his first four weeks of the Bible study — Blumer's group soon outgrew the location. At about the same time, with his father's financial support, Blumer opened Streetside Catering in Taylors.
In 2003, Blumer moved the ministry to the Triune Mercy Center, where a kitchen and a welcoming atmosphere waited. His catering company provided the food.
“At about that time, we stopped being a Bible study and started being a ministry,” says Blumer. “But we're not just a soup kitchen. The ministry is a lot more than what we do Tuesday nights.”
Over time, donations have helped him feed the clients, which number 60-80 each week. His passion to see others grow spiritually motivates him to bring the message.
“In the Scriptures, you see that Jesus identified with those he ate with. When you minister to the homeless, one of the hardest things for them is to listen to someone who doesn't know them or doesn't care about them,” Blumer says. “Having a meal together helps break down that barrier.”
It costs the group about $150 a week to provide the meal. Through more than 500 Tuesday nights, Blumer has always managed to find the funds.
“We don't have a lot of money in the bank, but God has always supplied the need,” says Blumer, who gets regular donations from the SOS Thrift Store and individuals.
Blumer shows no signs of burnout, in part because of loyal support from volunteers. During the months when North Greenville University and Evangelistic Institute of Greenville are in session, the group has numbered as many as 70.
“A couple of years ago, I was feeling discouraged. One day I realized that it is not my ministry — this is God's ministry. I really don't know anything. All I do is stand there and proclaim that God's word is truth,” says Blumer. “If I do that and love people, God can use me.”
