Couple who lost son spreads spirit of giving to Alabama

Couple who lost son spreads spirit of giving to Alabama

By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist

The front of the sanctuary of Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, Athens, was overflowing with first responders.

“We love you guys; we just wanted to pray over you,” Pastor Dusty McLemore said to the crowd of firefighters, police officers and EMTs gathered at the altar earlier in the year. “We appreciate so much what you and your family give back.”

It was a touching moment for the church, and McLemore said he hoped the special service was beneficial to the community too. It was an intentional effort to show appreciation and build bridges.

“We had wanted to do something like this for a while,” he said.

On a mission

The ball really got rolling when Michael Kilbourne and his wife, Randi, rolled into Athens in an RV from Columbia, South Carolina. They were on a mission — to help others. And if anyone had a heart for first responders, it was them.
Their 20-year-old son Brandon, a volunteer firefighter, was killed in August 2017 by someone mishandling a firearm. It changed the couple’s whole life.

“In the process of trying to grapple with that reality, a friend of mine gave me the advice, ‘If you’re going to heal, you have to help others,’” Kilbourne said.

So he took that idea and ran with it. The Kilbournes decided they would spend a year doing nothing but giving — and encouraging others to do the same. They started a nonprofit called Vision of Giving designed to support the ministry of the local church and encourage them to give generously.

And with that mission in their hearts, they got in the RV for a cross-country tour.

“It was birthed out of the desire for my wife and our family to try to find a better place to heal,” he said. His other sons, Brandon’s twin Austin and 18-year-old Connor, travel with them when they can.

 

“We just want to come alongside churches and serve,” Kilbourne said. “Helping others is a healing thing.”

What the family does at every place is different. Depending on what’s needed, they are ready to donate their volunteer time and financial resources and also speak a word of encouragement. No matter what they do, it’s always aimed at helping the church’s ministry, he said. And at every place, they are amazed at what God does.

That was true from the very first stop they made in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“We were serving the homeless underneath a freeway bridge, spending the evening talking and spending time with them,” Kilbourne said. “A woman showed up where we were with a food truck, and she was noticeably upset.”

Soon a leader approached Kilbourne and said, “I think you’re the right person to talk to her.”

Kilbourne balked at first, wondering what he had to offer, but as he and the woman began to talk, he learned her son had died the same way his had.

God had plans

“We knew then that God had definite plans for us in this,” Kilbourne said.

As the family has traveled on, they have made stops at churches from Michigan to Kansas. In June, they stopped at Golden Acres Baptist Church, Phenix City.

And just before that, at the end of May, they stopped in Athens. While at Lindsay Lane Baptist, Kilbourne bought lunch for the local fire department and helped the church get the first responder service together.

During the service Kilbourne challenged each person in the congregation to do three things — donate one hour of time serving others, connect with Vision of Giving through their website and tell them their story.

The Kilbournes are “easy to work with, flexible, sincere and they have compassion for people and a passion for serving,” McLemore said.

Kilbourne said Vision of Giving “was born out of a realization that what this world needs more of is people helping others in their time of need.”

“In one of the darkest times for my family, we found light and peace in the form of helping others,” he said. “We will continue this mission for the rest of our lives.”

For more information or to contact Vision of Giving, call 803-462-4733 or visit visionofgiving.org.