Established in 1989 by husband and wife Terry and Toni Banner under the name Interfaith Helpers of Gloucester County (IHGC), we are a NJ nonprofit corporation and faith-based organization with 501(c)(3) status. As a nonprofit corporation, we receive no federal funding. We raise our own funds, and we rely on donations from churches, businesses, organizations and individuals.
As a child of deaf parents, Terry felt a calling to minister to the disabled, and Toni, having never known her grandparents, felt a calling to minister to the elderly. For many years, Terry, Toni and their 200+ volunteers (including their three children) faithfully served the Lord by providing Williamstown, NJ area residents with basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, bicycles, mobility equipment, auto repairs, automobiles, and medical transportation. They also lovingly sponsored families at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
History.
Throughout the years, Terry and Toni made numerous sacrifices to keep the ministry going, and they never took a salary. They ran their ministry out of the home. They held fundraisers including a rummage sale, and they sold House of Lloyd holiday items. They were recognized with a DOVIA award for their excellence in community service. They sponsored mission trips and missionaries including their daughter and son-in-law, who served in Native American missions for a brief time. Terry enjoyed ministering by using his talents of singing and acting. He wrote his own script, “Joseph of Arimathea,” and he acted out the skit at churches as one of his ministry endeavors. A main event each fall was the Toy Run held by a local motorcycle club. Terry organized the first CROP hunger walk in Williamstown. The Pitman/Glassboro CROP Hunger walk selected IHGC as one of their grant recipients. IHGC also adopted a highway to keep clean.
In 2005, Terry helped launch an Interfaith Helpers of Malawi (IHM) office. In 2006, Terry went to be with the Lord. Subsequently, Terry and Toni’s daughter Bethany took the reins and used the gifts made in memory of Terry to establish a Terry G Banner scholarship fund for Malawi orphans to attend school, purchase school uniforms and school supplies. IHGC continued participating in the Toy Run for a few years to honor Terry’s memory. IHGC also continued to participate in the Pitman/Glassboro CROP Hunger walk for a few years, and used the grant money to purchase ShopRite gift cards. Toni continued to collect and distribute clothes up until her retirement in 2017.
In August 2024, a DBA/doing business as “Friends of Jesus Community Services” (FOJCS) was added. This was done to make a clear distinction that we are a Christian ministry whose members love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He alone would receive the glory due only to His name. On September 20, 2024, the Lord Jesus opened a door for us to establish our first-ever office in Glassboro, NJ.
In November 2024, a DBA “Friends of Jesus Campus Ministries” (FOJCM) was added.
Our current president is Bethany Frye of Glassboro, NJ.
First and foremost is the opportunity to minister to Rowan University students, evangelizing and discipling them. Organizations that conduct research have found that many college-aged students leave the faith or drop out of church. While we may be unsuccessful in persuading them to return to church, we can disciple them if given the opportunity. They will benefit from a caring Christian mentor who will teach them a biblical worldview and hold them accountable.
Why Glassboro?
Several Christian student organizations exist on campus which is great, but there’s an urgent need for remnant believers to engage in counter-culture conversations with Laodicean Christian students. By 2034, Rowan plans to double the student body, which would mean 30,000 students on campus. The majority of them won‘t have a personal relationship with God. We need to prepare now for the growth and train more Christians to effectively evangelize and disciple them.
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