Church gives school ’extreme makeover’
Looks like some others have caught on to what is all ready happening in Kentucky. Here is the Baptist Press article about Shadow Mountain Community Church in EL CAJON, California.
Here are some excerpts:
On the morning of Saturday, March 24, more than 500 volunteers from Shadow Mountain arrived at Logan Elementary. They came ready to paint, clean, landscape, hang banners, plant a vegetable garden, build soccer goals, and tackle any other project that needed to be done. The day was an opportunity to put into action the church's Signs of Life campaign, a six-week series of teaching focused on living like Jesus, with dusty shoes, worn-out knees, rolled-up sleeves, open hands and outstretched arms.
Logan Elementary, located in an impoverished neighborhood near downtown San Diego, impressed church leaders with a commitment to excellence and to its students. In the weeks leading up to the makeover, the congregation heard from school leaders, including Shadow Mountain member and Logan Elementary counselor Danielle Stilwell, who referred to the school as a "security blanket" for its students. By reaching out to the school through the makeover, Stilwell said, Shadow Mountain had a great opportunity to enhance that security blanket.
Working with different business people within the church, Shadow Mountain gathered the materials needed for the makeover. New signs and pennants, concrete, office furniture, paint, turf -- all were donated or offered at a deep discount. And when the call for volunteers went out, there were too many responses and not enough space at Logan. But the hundreds of volunteers who offered help after the cap was set still had an opportunity to serve. After the majority of the makeover work was done in the morning, 2,000 people, including volunteers and the Logan community, joined for a celebration in a neighborhood park. The event offered food, live music and a thank-you from San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who complimented the effort by the church and the community to work together. Boxes of food and personal care items also were distributed through partnering ministry Feed the Children.
"This is what the church is all about," Jeremiah said. "For so long, we've thought the church was what happened when we all got together in a building on Sunday, but this is the way the church is supposed to function."
What a great way for us as churches to impact our communities, by making a difference in the schools. They are not our enemies; they are partners in moving adolescences to adulthood. They are doing their part; we have just got to find better ways to do ours. This is an excellent one.
2 Comments
posted by: Joe Ball on April 24th, 2007
