Crafts For Christ

I Peter 4:10 - Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Teri McKee and Jeri Webb, founders of Crafts For Christ, grew up in Cleburne, TX, a small town near the Dallas / Fort Worth area. We come from a family of 5 and are the babies of the bunch.

Our Mission

The purpose of the Crafts For Christ Ministry is for the members of our church and their friends, to meet together not only to share in Christian fellowship, but to share the gifts God has given to each of them.

We seek to glorify God through discovering, developing, and using our gifts as an outreach to our community and the world.

Who We Are

Crafts For Christ is a nonprofit benevolence program of Bono Baptist Church. This program  consists of a group of ladies and children from our church who have the desire to serve the Lord with the gifts He has given to each of them.

Teri

Mom was a seamstress and worked at a sewing factory for years. When I was little, I could hear her sewing machine humming late in the night. She created beautiful matching clothes for Jeri and I to wear. I inherited  the gift of working with my hands from her. At a young age, I was also making the sewing machine hum.

When David and I were expecting our first baby, money was tight. I furnished the nursery by putting an ad in the paper and sewed for the public. When my children were babies, the sewing machine was loud, so my twin sister Jeri taught me how to crochet. It was amazing to me to be able to create something from just a string of yarn. I crocheted many items for family and friends. I was making things with my hands with the talent God had given me.

I later learned the handwork of Hardanger. I put my crochet hooks down. Little did I realize that I was also putting God aside. Hardanger became an obsession for me. I entered the Texas State Fair for many years and won 1^st Place Blue Ribbons. To do this type of needlework, you have to constantly count your stitches. I found myself constantly counting numbers in my head. People would be talking to me – I was counting numbers in my head, driving down the road – I was counting numbers in my head, watching television – I was counting numbers in my head, every idle moment – I was counting numbers in my head. It became an ugly nasty compulsive disorder. But it was a disorder that I could keep hidden from everyone but myself and the Almighty. Have you ever tried reading  the Bible while counting numbers? HA! I can laugh about it now that God has healed me, but what a sick obsessed life I lead. What was wrong with me?

I then realized that the joy I felt doing Hardanger had become an idol to me, only for the accolade and glory of man. Satan had taken something good and turned it into an ugly obsession and dark sin. What an awful mess was in my head and heart and no one knew it. My body started aching all over and the slightest touch would bring tears to my eyes. Every step I took was excruciating. I would stand in church to sing praise. But in my heart and mind I was praying for the singing to stop so I could sit down. I went to the doctor walking with a cane. After many tests, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My whole body was constantly inflamed. I cooked dinner while sitting on a stool. My children loved playing outside, but I constantly had to sit down. It took such a toll on my family and my relationship with my husband. Even the smallest issues loomed larger than a mountain.  I was in the center of a storm with nerves exposed and raw. It just felt like too much to carry. No medication eased the pain and agony. Deep, deep darkness and depression smothered me. God led me to Bono Baptist Church with a Bible believing Spirit Filled pastor, Kevin Bentley, and mighty intercessory prayer warriors. Bono Baptist is known as a “Lighthouse of Prayer”. Bono’s mission statement: Colossians 1:9-14 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

While in this darkness, God chose to be merciful and come to my rescue. I asked God for forgiveness and mercy and packed up all my Hardanger. There is a big sign above the doorway at Bono: “Expect A Miracle”. Praise God, He performed a miracle on me. He took away my compulsive disorder and healed me of all my sickness and pain. Thank you Mighty Heavenly Father for healing me inside and out.

God brought my beloved twin sister, Jeri back to our hometown. She has a loving, giving heart and started crocheting hats for the residents at the nursing home where she works. We started crocheting hats together. God put a desire in our hearts to start a ministry at Bono called Crafts For Christ. Members of our church meet together once a month to fellowship and create crafts to donate to local and national charities.

I praise and give God all the glory that He has given me the joy of crafting once again. He taught me through darkest pain and deepest mercy to let my light shine. Matthew 5:14-16 - You are the light of the world. A city on a hill can't be hidden. Also, people do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand. Then it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 "In the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father who is in heaven.

Your Sister in Christ Jesus,                                Teri McKee

Teri is married to her groom of 31 years, David. They have 2 children: Ashley and Clinton. Ashley is a first grade teacher and Clinton is employed in the gas well industry.

How to contact Teri:                   teri@craftsforchrist.us

Jeri