Sounds of construction mingled with Christian music filled the air along Seventh Street in Docena during the week of June 24–28 because World Changers were in town.
This small town south of Birmingham played host to 20 crews made up of 190 World Changers from eight churches across the South. The week before and about 10 miles away, Brighton hosted 136 World Changers from three churches.
Other cities across Alabama such as Anniston, Mobile and Huntsville were also visited by World Changers crews, all of which did construction, landscaping, painting and some general upkeep for residents who had poor or inadequate housing.
Butch Henderson, congregation consultant for Birmingham Baptist Association and project coordinator for World Changers, said, “[The two weeks went] very smoothly. We worked on 38 homes … we’ve gotten a lot of work accomplished.”
This is the ninth year the association has requested the World Changers come to the area. Residents apply to the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) of Jefferson County to qualify for work. Once approved, they are then assigned a World Changers team. The building materials are supplied by CEDO.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone concerned,” Henderson said. “For the owner, because of the work done; the county, because it’s getting more for its money; and the participants, because they’re able to use their gifts, talents and abilities the Lord has given them.”
Henderson said for every dollar CEDO spends on building supplies, it receives $3 back because of the labor the World Changers do.
One crew, the “Square Feet,” worked on Teresa Hill’s house in Docena, landscaping, painting her house white with green trim and rebuilding a deck on the side of the house.
“I’ve never met kids so friendly, ” Hill said. “I thank them for coming, I appreciate it.”
As he dug holes in Hill’s yard for porch posts, Dan Gregory, 19, from Austin, Texas, said, “It’s definitely been a good experience. I felt like I could show Christ’s love by using my hands.” This was Gregory’s first World Changers experience.
Seventeen-year-old Kate Strickland from New Bern, N.C., who had been mixing concrete, said the work was the reward, along with the appreciation of the residents whose homes the crew worked on. “I love doing this kind of stuff,” she said. “Meeting new people, seeing the expression on people’s faces when we get done.”
During the crew’s working day, which began at 7 a.m. and ended at 3:30 p.m., they stopped to eat lunch provided by local churches and also have a devotional time. The residents are invited to participate in both but aren’t required to join in. Some of the youth bring instruments for the devotions, like Jason Griffin, 17, of Charlotte, N.C., who brought his guitar to Hill’s house.
“We had six professions of faith in both neighborhoods,” Henderson said .
“But we’re primarily there to help the residents. We do lifestyle evangelism rather than straight sharing the gospel.”
The crews are made up of youth from different churches and supervised by a crew chief and a crew encourager. The chiefs are either volunteers from the area or members of the visiting church groups who have construction experience. The crew encourager is an adult chaperone from the church group.
Dalton Collins, a chaperone from Tabernacle Baptist Church in New Bern, N.C., who was painting Hill’s front porch, said his two daughters talked him into taking a week’s vacation to come on the trip. But he said getting to be with his daughters made the sacrifice worth it.
“Plus seeing all the teens work together,” Collins added. “It’s harder work than I was expecting. I have a new appreciation for the teens, … more respect for them. I appreciate their time and effort.”
And his 15-year-old daughter’s opinion of having Dad along?
“It’s cool,” Sarah Collins said as she painted green trim. “He’s somebody I know and I love, and if I need to talk to him, I can.”
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