Heritage at Houston UMC’s longstanding breakfast ministry serves spiritual food and physical food

By Kara Witherow, Editor

“Some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers…”

Others pancake flippers, some egg scramblers, bacon fryers, or coffee pourers.

Maybe that’s not exactly how it’s written in scripture, but that’s the gist of it at Heritage at Houston United Methodist Church.

For 884 Sundays – 17 years – the congregation has served breakfast to anyone and everyone who has walked through the Macon church’s doors.

The ministry, named Scrambled Eggs for Jesus, feeds between 60 and100 people every Sunday, said leader and church member Ray Rover.

“It’s a diverse mix of people including children, prostitutes, drug dealers, people who are living in homelessness, drug users, gang members … anyone and everyone,” he said. “They come in and get fed. This is holy ground.”

Breakfast ministries aren’t unusual, but Scrambled Eggs for Jesus doesn’t just serve folks food and say goodbye. There are no to-go boxes; those who eat are asked to sit, get to know each other, and listen to a short gospel message.

“We feed anybody who is willing to come in, sit down, have fellowship, hear the Word, and hear about Jesus,” Rover said. “What’s important is that the Word goes forward.”

Each Sunday, a different Macon-area church volunteers to cook, serve, and clean. An ecumenical effort, Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, community organizations, and even area sports teams help out.

“The Lord has shown me, ‘If He guides, He provides.’ And I’ve never worried about help. To this day I’ve had thousands of helpers serve breakfast,” Rover said. “It’s incredible.”

The food is simple but filling: scrambled eggs, grits, pancakes, bacon or sausage, toast, coffee, and orange juice. The same goes for the message – straightforward, but substantial: scripture, encouragement, and Jesus.

“We talk about the Lord and Jesus, repentance and sin, and how Jesus is our only hope,” Rover said.

Diane Coady began volunteering with Scrambled Eggs for Jesus in December 2019 and has served every Sunday since.

The people keep her coming back week after week, she said.

“I see the need for people to be shown love. It’s more than just breakfast; it’s being able to sit and chat and lead people to Christ,” said Coady, who also attends worship services at Heritage at Houston UMC. “Serving is so easy; it doesn’t cost you much of anything but time.”

Through Scrambled Eggs for Jesus God has shown Coady that real ministry is what happens outside the walls of a church.

“They get the Word, they get spiritual food and physical food,” she said of the breakfast ministry. “We get to sit and talk with them and pray with them. We are doing God’s work. We’re His hands and His feet.”