Volunteers from four Alabama churches joined nearly 150 volunteers from 11 states in New Orleans for a weeklong MissionsFEST as part of the Volunteer Connection of Woman’s Missionary Union.
Women from First Baptist Church, Columbiana; First Baptist Church, Moody; Hunter Street Baptist Church, Birmingham; and Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Hueytown, helped at various ministry sites in New Orleans participating in activities such as prayer walking, hosting a block party and working in homeless shelters.
Mary Kay King, leader of the Heart Connection women’s group at First, Moody, said the experience unified the six women who went and clarified their vision for ministry at home.
“It has given us a heart to be involved in ministry at home and in the community,” King said. “It has also given us courage, because if we can go [out of town] and do [missions], then we can do that here [at home].”
King’s group worked at the Brantley Baptist Center preparing meals, cleaning and doing repairs as well as helping with a block party at a mall.
MissionsFEST experiences provide volunteers an opportunity to partner with local Christians in a concentrated effort to support ongoing missions projects and use their individual gifts to reach out, help others and share the love of Christ.
Joining the women from Alabama was a lone man, Mike Miller, pastor of First, Columbiana.
Julie Walters, WMU communications specialist, said MissionsFest is a great missions opportunity for both men and women.
King agreed, saying, “It’s an awesome thing that provides an outlet for men and women to come together [and volunteer] through an organized event.”
Volunteers for the April 6–12 outreach in New Orleans ranged in age from 22 to 82. Among the volunteers were 10 Louisiana missionaries who serve through the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board; some worked as participants and some were recipients of help in their local ministries.
“MissionsFEST in New Orleans affirmed my confidence in what God can do through dedicated and surrendered Christians as they commit their ways unto the Lord,” said Cindy Townsend, executive director of Louisiana WMU. “New Orleans is certainly a city of diversity, and it was so wonderful to see WMU gather volunteers from all over the country to participate in the many diverse missions opportunities that took place.”
Pam Lockwood, associate of ministries and adult missions education for Louisiana WMU, added that MissionsFEST was a “great encouragement” to pastors and church members in the area. “We were excited and so thankful that people came to our state to offer their time and talents,” Lockwood said. “It’s wonderful to know that people around our nation care about the people of New Orleans and were committed and dedicated to God’s calling to share the love of Jesus with them.”
Teams of volunteers tutored elementary students, prayer walked, ministered at homeless shelters, cleaned and did repair work at local Baptist centers, helped with the construction of a new church and participated in various other activities. The ministry sites included six elementary schools and four Baptist centers.
MissionsFEST volunteers also hosted a block party in the parking lot of Lake Forest Mall, where more than 400 area residents enjoyed midway games, clowns, puppets, live music, face painting, blood pressure screening, jambalaya, soft drinks and more, all free of charge.
First, Moody, volunteer Eloise Spray said the block party gave her an opportunity to share God’s love by mingling with attendees and helping with children so parents could enjoy the event.
“I realized that at those times when you don’t have the freedom to share verbally, you can show love practically,” Spray said. “And showing Christ’s love in practical ways can give you the opportunity to share verbally, because I had a chance to pray with a woman [through watching her child while she had her blood pressure checked].”
The WMU Volunteer Connection outreach “was a great success because it was customized to really meet the needs of local churches,” said Loy Seal, director of church growth and development for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. “We appreciate national WMU providing us with the opportunity to identify the local churches and ministries in our area with the greatest needs, and we are grateful for our relationship with WMU.”
Partnership for outreach
The New Orleans MissionsFEST was a partnership between national WMU, Louisiana WMU, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s MissionLab. States represented with volunteers besides Alabama were Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Planning and implementing each MissionsFEST and FamilyFEST experience is truly a team effort, said Kristy Carr, Volunteer Connection specialist for national WMU.
“I am so thankful for the volunteers who gave of their time, talents and resources to be on mission in New Orleans,” Carr said. “We may never know all the lives that were impacted as a result of MissionsFEST, but we do know that we saw God at work in all of the ministries in which we were a part. It is so incredible to see how God puts His people where He needs them at just the right time.”
While MissionsFEST experiences are open to adults 18 years and older, WMU also provides opportunities for entire families to do missions work together through FamilyFEST, which is tailored for families with children in the first grade and up. It provides an opportunity for children to learn about doing missions by watching their parents do missions and by working alongside them.
Remaining MissionsFEST opportunities for 2003 include trips to Rochester, N.Y., where volunteers may choose the weeks of July 7–13 or July 10–13; San Antonio, Texas, June 8–12; and Cincinnati, June 28–July 3. The San Antonio and Cincinnati sites are combined MissionsFEST and FamilyFEST events.
For more information on Volunteer Connection and MissionsFEST or FamilyFEST events, visit www.wmu.com, or call 205-991-4097. (BP, TAB contributed)
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