For some faith-based groups, the glow of generosity and kindness that comes with this season of giving will burn on long after Christmas trees are hauled to recyclers and Santa caps packed away for next year's yule.

At Family Promise of Hawai'i, which helps families with children escape homelessness, the holiday spirit imbues an everyday effort.

"We're helping people transform their lives to create a better future, which, I think, completely follows with what Jesus was calling people to do," said Kent Anderson, executive director of the nonprofit through which 65 congregations take weeklong turns preparing meals and housing families at their facilities.

Pointing out that Family Promise is secular but its congregational lineup interfaith — Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic and Unitarian — Anderson added, "A beautiful part of this is there are many faiths that follow the same call to provide for people's basic needs from a physical and from an emotional level."

This week, volunteers at St. Mark Lutheran in Käne'ohe, led by Kristin and Yal Lim, are spending mornings and evenings with families bunking in partitioned areas of the church's gymnasium. Sure, they said, the example of Jesus motivates them to serve others throughout the year. In return, there are blessings — or, at least, delightful moments.

Nodding to ponytailed little girls romping around on the gym floor as their parents join other families at tables dressed up for dinner, Kristin Lim said, "We have a ball down here, actually. It's hectic ... but we have a good time."

Also, Yal Lim said, "Each time we do this, we're getting more volunteers. It's helping our church to come more together ... people are getting to know one another better."

Family Promise, modeled after a national organization, works every day of the year with a total of about 1,500 volunteers across O'ahu to move 80 percent of the families it serves into sustainable housing within three to four months, Anderson said.

HELPING INMATES

With help from a few hundred volunteers, Roy Yamamoto, a pastor at New Hope Christian Fellowship O'ahu, leads the church's efforts to reach out to Hawai'i's incarcerated population and their families.

"My scripture that I live on is Hebrews 13:1," Yamamoto said. It reads: "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

Yamamoto spent years behind bars before he turned his life around. A decade ago, when facing a 20- to 40-year term in connection with a robbery charge from the mid-1990s, a judge — apparently convinced that Yamamoto had committed his life to helping others reform — sentenced him to five years of probation.

These days, that judge helps out with a four-day camp New Hope organizes over the long Labor Day weekend for children with incarcerated parents, Yamamoto said.

Another project, which involves church members picking up holiday gifts for the children, is wrapping up this week with the delivery of about 700 "Angel Tree" packages to O'ahu homes. "My daughter was once an 'Angel Tree' kid," Yamamoto said.

Throughout the year, the prison ministry invites relatives of Hawai'i inmates housed in Arizona prisons to come to a church facility for big-screen video visitations. "The whole family comes in. So, they get to see each other and visit live" and avoid a hefty phone bill, Yamamoto said.

ALWAYS GIVING BACK

At Kaumakapili Church, which serves a low-income neighborhood in the Kalihi area, the only day the building gets a rest is on Mondays. On other days, space is booked for food bank distributions, collection and giveaway of clothing and household items, literacy and adult education programs and church services.

Its Web site reads: "While Kaumakapili is not a rich church, its members have found wealth beyond measure in efforts to help those who have great needs."

The church's senior pastor, the Rev. Richard Kamanu, said, "We base our mission on Christ's love to all people." He added, "We feed the hungry, clothe the poor, comfort the weak-hearted. That's our drive."

Still, Kamanu conceded, frequent dealings with needy neighbors can touch off cases of good will fatigue among volunteers. He encourages them to bear in mind the image of Jesus when dealing with those who may be frazzled or even demanding.

An outreach committee at the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew assists families at nearby Kalihi Waena Elementary School. In recent years, the Downtown church has delivered boxes of meats to hundreds of families at Christmastime and a station wagon load of school supplies in July.

Elizabeth Conklin, who chairs the committee, said when congregants learned this year that children were missing out on school field trips because families couldn't afford the fees, the church pitched in for that, too.

"It's tough because a lot of these families are first-generation" from Micronesia and elsewhere, Conklin said. "They've all come here because they want better lives for their kids. And the kids need the education and the field trips. They need the exposure to things to make their dreams come true."

When asked how the example of Jesus motivates her, Conklin said the Bible directs the faithful to "take care of people who need help in whatever form." She added, "Personally, I try to do it in ways that have long-term effects, such as helping the kids in the school."

'JUST A SMALL PART'

At Central Union Church of Honolulu, several year-round commitments are tied to sharing meals with those in need. On Thursdays, volunteers gather with the homeless and others in Kaka'ako Waterfront Park for a church service and dinner. On Wednesdays, there's a Bible study and lunch at Old Stadium Park.

Carol Alevizos, who helps coordinate logistics for several regular mealtime get-togethers, said, "I'm really deeply touched when I see people who have so much that they're struggling with, but their faith is very deep and they're loving and caring, giving and joyful." She added, "I gain strength from being around their example."

Central Union will hold an ecumenical service at 10 a.m. tomorrow followed by a Christmas meal for an estimated 250 homeless people and other members of the church.

The event's coordinator, Lili Harris, is now busy with preparations and decorations.

"Christmas is just a small part of what we do" because the teachings of Jesus point to lifelong community service, Harris said.

"Sometimes it's very enjoyable and sometimes it's hard work and stressful," she said. "And sometimes it's hard to come up with money needed, but we just keep on trucking."