The Stone Mountain area just east of Atlanta received some sprucing up –
and a healthy dose of the good news – as Southern Baptist women from 10
states recently descended on the area.
The Stone Mountain area just east of Atlanta received some sprucing up –
and a healthy dose of the good news – as Southern Baptist women from 10
states recently descended on the area.
Nearly 160 Southern Baptist Womans Missionary Union volunteers
drove up to 10 hours to participate in a range of missions efforts in the area.
Volunteers worked to weed and plant flower beds in Stone Mountain
Village as part of a city beautification project, conduct prayerwalks and block
parties, serve in ministry centers, perform light construction and visit shut-ins.
All in all, 20 projects were completed during the Atlanta MissionsFEST
held in late April. It was the second such event sponsored by the national Womans
Missionary Union. Last year, Charleston, S.C., was the first location to benefit
from the ministry. Little Rock, Ark., and Philadelphia, Pa., will host similar
events this year.
In the Stone Mountain effort, volunteers worked at a range
of projects.
At Indian Creek Baptist Church, volunteers helped
Joe and Margaret Coon in the churchs ministry center. They updated a database,
sorted clothes, worked with children who attend the Indian Creek Christian School
and conducted a block party.
At the Memorial Drive Center, volunteers ministered
alongside Reggie Robbins to organize a clothing closet, make visits in the community
and conduct a prayerwalk outside a crack house. They also completed yard work
and spruced up a prayer garden.
At Stewart Center, volunteers helped Alice White
paint a home in the neighborhood and provided other ministry services. “One
volunteer wrote … she really received a picture of what the life of an inner-city
missionary is all about,” said Linda Hokit, director of Stone Mountain
Ministries.
During the weekend, volunteers easily could be seen in their
bright red, yellow and blue tee-shirts. They shared the gospel as residents
stopped to ask them where they were from and what they were doing.
In addition to the ministry projects, the volunteers also participated
in two worship rallies. At the rally, Georgia WMU Executive Director Barbara
Curnutt summed up the reason for Baptists to be on mission.
“There is a definite relationship between joy and servanthood,”
she said. “If indeed Jesus performed the role of a servant and if indeed
he modeled an attitude toward life that was self-giving, we should do likewise.
Jesus said, Look at me, watch what I do.
“We need to remember that a person who best honors God
is a person who is prepared to stoop and serve,” Curnutt added. “We
are called to a life of obedience and fellowship with the suffering servant.
We have been called to be servants, not celebrities.”
Others agreed.
For instance, as she weeded a flowerbed in downtown Stone Mountain
Village, Mary Billingsley of Morven, Ga., expressed why she gave her weekend
to mission service.
“Im here because of what the Lord has done in my
life. Hes brought me through a battle with leukemia and has given me extra
time on earth to see the birth of my first grandchild. He gives me strength
to continue each day, and I want to share that with anyone who asks why I am
here.”
In the distance, Ted and Martha Marcum from Spring Valley,
Ohio, prayerwalked to intercede for area residents.
“We are here because this is where we felt God wanted
us to be – out of the church building and into the world, doing missions,”
Ted Marcum said. “We are a very small church and we feel like this experience
will motivate others in our congregation to go on future mission trips.”
After sharing a tract with a mother and child sitting in the
shade of a large oak tree, Barbara Cass of Ocala, Fla., took a break from her
prayerwalk to explain her reason for participating. “We just got tired
of talking about missions and wanted to branch out and actually do something,”
Cass said.
Fellow church member Rosemary Slater agreed. “Ive
learned that this brings you a lot closer to God, and its a great way
to see him working in the lives of others. If one person comes to Christ, the
eight-hour drive will have been worth it.”
At the Stone Mountain Cooperative Ministries, a team from Eubank,
Ky., performed maintenance on the aging building.
Veronica Tackette balanced herself on a 10-foot ladder as she
caulked ceiling cracks. Participating in his first mission trip outside of Kentucky,
Curtis Ingram repaired plumbing in the bathroom and kitchen. Jewell Habermehl
was busy in the food pantry, helping to fill a box of canned goods for a family
of four.
As the first day of the event drew to a close, workers from
Greenville, S.C., shifted gears from organizing a clothes closet at a local
church to tutor children from Bosnia.
As the children filed out of the church van and into the classroom,
Colleen Mauney took a break to reflect on why she crossed the state line for
missions. “This is a great way to get yourself out of the pew,” she
said. “Not everyone can go to a foreign mission field for a week or two,
but most everyone can give a weekend to serve God.”
As she helped pull tables together for the tutoring session,
Janet Ledford echoed Mauneys thoughts. “We were talking the other
day and asked ourselves why is it that the youth are the only ones who get to
go on mission trips. We decided it was time for us adults to hit the road, too.
“Once you find where God is at work and you plug into
that, you get a craving for missions,” Ledford explained. “And once
you get missions in your blood, you dont want to do anything else.”
(BP)
(For more information on MissionsFEST projects planned in June and October,
persons may call 205-991-4097 or visit www.wmu.com/ministry/volunteer/missionsfest.html)