Two Churches Serve Suffolk, VA

August 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The following article was published on August 4, 2012, in the Suffolk (Virginia) News-Herald:

Church Members Reach Out

by Tracy Agnew

Dozens of members of two downtown churches spread out across the city Saturday on a mission of hope.

It was the second year of Operation Inasmuch for West End Baptist Church and Suffolk Presbyterian Church. They started doing the ministries last year in lieu of conducting vacation Bible school.

“We really are enjoying this more than VBS,” said Lou Ventura, one of the organizers of the event. “At VBS, we were just ministering to ourselves. We felt we needed to really help the community.”

Jack Leach, left, and Jack Stoughton help repair Peggy Luter’s front porch on First Avenue on Saturday. The project was part of Operation Inasmuch, done by two downtown churches.

The weekend-long event began Friday, when the two churches met at West End and the Rev. Rebecca Lesley of Suffolk Presbyterian delivered the message. Teams ironed out final details for the next day over a potluck dinner.

On Saturday, six teams went off on their missions of compassion.

A hygiene kit team assembled hygiene kits and donated them to the Western Tidewater Free Clinic. A sewing team delivered pillows, walker bags and lap blankets they had handmade to a nursing home. A yard sale team sold donated items for 25 cents each at Suffolk Presbyterian Church. A construction team completed a three-day project to repair and paint a front porch on First Avenue. A cemetery team began mapping the graves at Oak Lawn Cemetery, the long-neglected resting place of some of Suffolk’s most prominent black citizens from the late 1800s.

And finally, a prayer team visited each of the other sites to pray with volunteers.

“It’s a way for us to get into the community,” Ventura said. “This was a successful thing last year, so we decided to do it again.”

At the yard sale, anyone who needed items they couldn’t afford was allowed to just take them.

On First Avenue, Peggy Luter watched as a team of volunteers repaired her front porch.

“These people are wonderful,” said Luter, a member of West End who also contributed as part of the sewing team. “I appreciate these people. I told them I would like to be up there hammering.”

Part of the wood on her porch had been rotting, she said. The team decided the best course of action was to replace the entire porch. They also offered to come back and stain the wood, she said.

“This is just a very small way that our churches can express our ministry into the community,” church member Jack Stoughton said during a break from repairing the porch. “It’s a great ministry.”

On Sunday, the two churches planned to meet for worship at Suffolk Presbyterian, with Dr. Chester Brown, interim pastor of West End, delivering the message.

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Virginians to Unite for Statewide Inasmuch

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On May 3, 2012, Executive Director David Crocker met with members of the Network of Association Workers comprised of Directors of Missions and Association support staff from across the state of Virginia.

By the end of the meeting, the group decided to work together to conduct an Inasmuch United Virginia in the spring of 2014!

The group anticipates that 1400 churches from across the state will serve their communities with compassion on a single day. This event makes Virginia the third state to experience the blessing of a statewide Inasmuch event, following North Carolina (Southern Baptist) and South Carolina (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America).

Cliff Hudgins, Director of Missions of the Pittsylvania Association was a strong advocate of a statewide Inasmuch Untied at the May 3 meeting. He said…

A lot of churches wait too long and do too little to wake up their congregations, to find ways to reach out to the community and to grow spiritually. Operation Inasmuch provides a model that is far more effective than most efforts to help a church move forward.

In last year’s Inasmuch event, we were able to mobilize 70% of our churches in the Association. Each church in turn had a huge number of people involved: 58% of those who attend Sunday School – well beyond the 20% that typically volunteer! As a result, over 1500 volunteers from 36 churches served their communities last fall.

The biggest benefit of our Inasmuch United is that participants realized for the first time that they don’t have to go overseas or even across the state to do mission work. They can become missionaries in their own backyard and experience the joy serving those who have needs – while having their own lives touched as well.

We are excited about the opportunity to share the missionary thrill with churches and churchgoers across Virginia in 2014!

Operation Inasmuch’s presence in Virginia is not new. More than 115 churches individually and in groups have been conducting Inasmuch events for several years now.

Churches in Tappahanock, VA, have worked together for 5 years in a community-wide Essex Churches Together Inasmuch event. Northern Neck churches (near Warsaw, VA) have been serving together for 3 years. The Portsmouth and Pittsylvania Baptist Associations started Inasmuch events last year and hope to expand to neighboring Associations in 2013.

May, 2012 eNewsletter

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Virginians Serve Year After Year!

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The following article was published on April 29, 2012 in the Clark County, Virginia ClarkeDailyNews.com

Berryville Baptist Church: 3rd Annual Operation Inasmuch Day

By  Hill on Apr 29 2012.

“Free stuff makes everyone smile.”  Tim Walraven made that comment after attending Berryville Baptist Church’s “Free for All” Yard Sale Saturday, April 14th.

And that’s what Berryville Baptist Church was after – putting smiles on faces in Berryville and neighboring towns.   On April 14th, 78 members and friends of Berryville Baptist Church participated in its Operation Inasmuch Day, a community mission program.   17 teams went out into the community helping others, reaching out, making new friends and hopefully making people smile.  In addition, others participated in advance, donating time and materials in preparation for the day’s activities.

Lisa Gum looks through the "Free for All" Yard Sale items. Photo credit Betty Hill

Preparations and planning started in January as Rose Staples, chairperson, and Berryville Baptist’s Missions Committee collected ideas for team projects, needs in the community, and volunteers.  They worked hard to find missions where every age and every talent could participate.

For the third year in a row, the church hosted a “Free for All” Yard Sale.  Congregants and friends donated items ahead of time, and then community members were invited on Inasmuch Day to “shop” for free and take what they could use.  Clothing is by far what is donated most, and what people come for.  But this year, the yard sale also offered yard maintenance tools, exercise equipment, household items, toys and stuffed animals, and more.  One picture on the church Facebook page shows a smiling young lady, Lisa Gum; one of her friends, Tim Walraven, posted “Free stuff makes everyone smile.”   So true!

There are several other projects that have happened all three years.  One favorite is a tea party, held this year for ladies at Mary Hardesty house.  Another is picking up litter along roadsides, this year at the east end of Senseny Road.  There were also mattress flipping, window washing and yard work teams who helped community members this year in Berryville and Millwood.  Another favorite is the “Sunshine Baskets,” baskets filled with fruit and goodies for distribution at the Clarke County Senior Center.  Several people shared “We Care” kits of toiletries and small gifts and visited with residents at Washington Square apartments.  Pastor Dan Stanley led the “Water Bottle” team, handing out bottled water to passers-by on the corners of Church Street and Main Street and sharing a simple message “Have a Great Day!”  This was especially appreciated this year, as this was also the Berryville Yard Sale Day, so there were a lot of thirsty people walking along Main Street. And, to support all the teams and give them energy for the day, the “Rise and Shine” team provided breakfast and bagged lunches.

Resident Cecilia Stillman holds Joshua Foltz during the visit. Chrystal Fiechtl commented “I'm sure that warmed her lap...and her heart!” Photo credit Betty Hill

This year, the “Caring and Sharing Cards” project invited each member of the congregation to participate by writing a short note on a greeting card.  Three project team members visited residents at Golden Living at Rose Hill and left the note cards for them to enjoy later.

In a new project this year, children decorated fleece lap blankets with beads and shared them with residents of Godfrey House.  The kids then sang “Jesus Loves Me” for the residents.

Two hymn sings were held, one at Greenfield Assisted Living and one at Godfrey House.  Residents commented on how the visit, fellowship and hymns just “brightened their day”.

Operation Inasmuch takes its name from Matthew 25:40 where Jesus says, “…inasmuch as you have done such things for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done the same for me.”   Pastor Dan sums it up this way:  “During Operation Inasmuch days, people from Berryville Baptist Church put this verse into action.  It is my prayer that we will continue to reach out and care for others in an authentic way with no strings attached.”

Berryville Baptist is participating in a national Operation Inasmuch program that rallies congregants from churches around the world to serve their community in the “Compassion Revolution.”  (http://operationinasmuch.org/)

A special celebration service was held at the church on Sunday, April 22nd, with a slideshow of pictures taken by the “Camera Crew” team.  To see the full set of photos from the day, visit the Image Gallery on the church’s website at www.berryvillebaptist.org or the church Facebook page at www.facebook.com/berryvillebaptist.  For more information, please call the church office at (540) 955-1423 or visit the church at 114 Academy Street, Berryville, VA.

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Virginians Serve with NC Churches

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

GoDanRiver.com, the online newspaper serving Danville, VA and Reidsville and Eden, NC (Rockingham County), published the following article on May 1, 2012:

Touching Lives

By STEVE LAWSON

As usual, Sunday services at churches involved in last Saturday’s Operation Inasmuch were filled with testimonials concerning the reactions of people helped during the one-day missions blitz – as well as the blessings received by those doing the helping.

But Cathy Cardwell of Mayodan First Baptist Church said reactions began for her well ahead of Saturday’s multiple projects. Cardwell oversees the Hands of God food pantry housed at First Baptist and was responsible for helping prepare 100 bags of groceries for distribution Saturday.

One of the first things Cardwell noticed was the sharp increase in the cost of filling those bags. Two years ago, purchasing enough food for 100 bags took $1,400. This year the amount grew to $2,200.

“It attracts a lot of attention when you go to buy that much food,” Cardwell said.

When she started through the checkout line at Wal-Mart with carts filled with canned goods and other food items, Cardwell said people started asking her why she was buying so much.

“When I told them about Operation Inasmuch and giving away 100 bags of food in one day, everyone wanted to help,” she said. “It was really a blessing to see that kind of response even before the event itself.”

But the pre-event blessings were far from finished. Cardwell said she had to send her husband, Doug, to Food Lion to pick up some remaining items one day last week.

“As he was checking out with another cart filled with groceries, someone asked him what all the food was for,” Cardwell said. “When he told them about Operation Inasmuch, the person handed him a dollar. They told Doug they couldn’t do much, but they wanted to give something to help. Now, that was a blessing.”

Saturday was the fourth edition of Operation Inasmuch for the Western Rockingham County area. Local churches – including Mayodan First, Woodbine and Comer’s Chapel Baptist churches – joined forces to fulfill a wide variety of missions projects. More than 300 people of all ages worked through most of the day to complete tasks ranging from building wheelchair ramps, painting and re-glazing windows, planting a community garden, giving manicures, handing out quarters at laundromats, mowing lawns and cleaning gutters, washing cars or making no-sew blankets.

Bill Scheib directed Saturday’s communitywide missions blitz with the help of his wife, Sherry. Scheib said the event carried a lasting impact, both for those rendering and those receiving the provided services.

“It’s really about reaching out to help others, to demonstrate God’s unconditional love in some tangible ways,” Scheib said. “It’s about making the Bible come to life for our community.”

Operation Inasmuch began in 1995 as a one-day outreach project for Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville. The program grew so successful at involving church members with people in their community that it was soon picked up by neighboring churches. Within a few years, the missions project spread to neighboring counties, states and even to Canada and England.

The project’s primary focus is mobilizing church members to reach out to people outside the church walls. Operation Inasmuch is based on a lesson Jesus taught his disciples on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 25:40 – “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Scheib said the focus of the event was changing lives by working together for even a single day.

“In just one day, you can plant a garden or paint a house, teach a children’s Bible study or build a wheelchair ramp,” he said. “In just one day, you can change a person’s life forever by showing that you care and that God cares.”

At one point Saturday morning, more than 50 people were involved in the Operation Inasmuch ministry at Jacob’s Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Madison. While about 30 people gathered in the dining room to sing hymns and gospel songs for residents, another group was visible in the courtyard through the floor-to-ceiling windows along one side of the room.

The large crew in the courtyard had been busy since early morning completely remodeling the area. The work included building a waterfall feature, planting new greenery and flowers and adding new birdhouses.

While some worked on the landscaping and rebuilding, another crew worked on the walls surrounding the courtyard – painting and re-glazing the windows and trim.

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a few contributions and enough cooperation,” Amanda Cardwell said. “This is going to be such a nice area for these residents to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. I’ve already had several tell me how much this means to them and that’s what this is all about – reaching out to others with God’s love.”

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More on Virginia Inasmuch United

November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The following article was recently published online in the Religious Herald: Newsjournal of the Baptist General Association of Virginia:

Blitz empowers churches in Virginia’s Southside to serve communities

By Barbara Francis, Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

DANVILLE, Va. — In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus says a person keeps the commandment to love God and neighbor by ministering to his neighbor.

Saturday, Oct. 8, is a day that will long be remembered for ministry as more than 1,500 members of 36 churches in the Pittsylvania Baptist Association participated in Operaton Inasmuch, offering themselves in service through more than 160 neighborhood projects.

Operation Inasmuch is a ministry that helps local churches move congregants out of the sanctuary and into the streets to serve the neediest in their communities. It is based on Matthew 25 in which Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”

Janice Overbey, laundromat ministry coordinator, with mother receiving free laundry service.

“We had two churches participate in single OIAM events with good results,” says Cliff Hudgins, ministries coordinator for the Pittsylvania Baptist Association. “Their excitement led me to present the concept of the association churches doing the project on a larger scale.”

According to Hudgins, a task action group was formed to spearhead the planning process. Churches were grouped geographically, forming 10 clusters, with a cluster leader and a member from each church in that area planning to participate.

Clusters selected mission projects. A “Make It Happen!” grant from the Danville Regional Foundation funded the community home and buildings improvement projects. Participating churches provided monetary gifts and purchased items for smaller ministry projects.

Wearing red t-shirts emblazoned with Pittsylvania Baptist Association and Operation Inasmuch, volunteers took to the streets on Oct. 8 to serve their neighbors.

The Chatham cluster consisted of members from Chatham, Mill Creek and First Community Baptist churches. Building projects included constructing a handicap ramp and carpet replacement for a resident and painting and staining the ramp at the Northern Pittsylvania County Food Bank.

The Children in Action from Chatham Baptist Church went to a local supermarket and discount store and distributed slips of paper, requesting shoppers to purchase a can of corn for the food bank. There were 183 cans of corn donated that day. Youth and their parents assisted shoppers by placing groceries in their vehicles.

Volunteers assembled 33 five-gallon blessing buckets for God’s Pit Crew, a non-profit crisis response organization. Items packed included bottled water, canned food, can opener, cleaning supplies, a flashlight with batteries, personal grooming items, paper towels and toilet tissue, peroxide and a small Bible. The organization responds to disasters in the United States and abroad and the buckets are a blessing to those in these emergency situations, says Eleanor Haskins, leader of the Chatham cluster.

A winter coat giveaway was held at the Community Center of Chatham where church members assisted in giving away 150 coats for adults and children. Volunteers were placed at three laundromats offering quarters to individuals to wash and dry their clothing.

Members of Chatham Baptist Church filling blessing buckets for God’s Pit Crew.

Moffett Memorial, Rivermont and Woodberry Hills Baptist churches formed a cluster, led by Russell Scruggs from Moffett Memorial. One of its projects was to paint the exterior of the Little Life Pregnancy Center in Danville.

Scruggs says the workers at the paint store said the job couldn’t be done in one day. Several on the painting team had doubts, he admits. “And while I believe all things are possible, this was going to be a real test,” he says. Yet at the end of the day the center had a fresh coat of paint.

Moffett Memorial and Woodberry Hills Baptist churches opened their clothes closets for Operation Inasmuch. Shoes 4 Souls donated 120 pairs of shoes and 100 pairs were given away that Saturday, along with clothes and bags of toiletries. Volunteers provided car check-ups and oil was given those whose vehicles needed an oil change.

Volunteers in each of the 10 clusters gave “Why We Serve” cards along with their offers of compassion. The card identified them as members of churches in the Pittsylvania Baptist Association. It read that the reason for their service was because they had experienced God’s love and hoped their actions would draw others closer to the love of God.

Scruggs notes that one of the most meaningful aspects of Operation Inasmuch was getting to know people from other churches. “Everyone was involved in a common cause,” he says, “and people from our church were serving at another church while members of other congregations were involved in projects here.” He feels it was a great opportunity to bond with other Christians.

At its fall meeting in October the program included a sharing time as a representative from each cluster reported on community projects and how Operation Inasmuch had changed lives in their communities and churches.

“People who return from a missions trip have a sparkle in their eye and are ready to tell how it felt to be a missionary serving the Lord,” says Hudgins. “I saw the sparkle in many eyes of those who participated and I heard over and over the story of how people felt like missionaries serving their Lord, but this time in their own backyard.”

Operation Inasmuch provided churches in the Pittsylvania Baptist Association a means of showing their love for God and their neighbors — up close and personal.

Barbara Francis ( bfrancis@religiousherald.org) is a staff writer for the Religious Herald.

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