The Christmas spirit was alive and well Saturday as Thru the Cross Evangelistic Ministries volunteers lined up for a chance to help the community.

Pastor and CEO B.S. Tucker and company used the inspired efforts of church members during the Thanksgiving holidays to springboard a Christmas Eve dinner for the community during lunch hours.

Though a number of people were involved in making the meal possible, Tucker said the success of the event can be credited to a much higher power.

“It is an idea like all ministries that is given to us by the Lord,” he said. “We listen to him and have many ministries that come out of here. This is just one of them. People can come along through one ministry and we can help them start another one.”

The dinner, Tucker said, is one of many community outreach projects used by Thru the Cross to provide help to the community. The Christmas meal, he said, is a new addition.

“This is the first time we have done this one,” he said. “We have been doing it on Thanksgiving Day for a while, but we had some food and other things left over that some people had donated so we decided to do another meal on Christmas Eve. It has turned out really well.”

The Thanksgiving meal usually draws about 200 people, Tucker said, which is what he expected on Christmas Eve.

The meal took about three days to prepare and get everything in order, Tucker said.

“Counting (Christmas Eve) it took a little while, but we are blessed with donations from individuals and churches in Selma and Orrville,” he said. “We welcome any help we can get.”

Thru The Cross is a 501©3 organization, and all donations are tax-deductible.

Donations can be dropped at the ministry’s home office on Broad Street or mailed to 1620 Broad St. address.