A Tennessee River Association church received a facelift in August, through the expedient commitment of a north Florida group.
The nine-member college missions team from Eastside Baptist Church in Marianna, Fla., scraped, primed and painted the exterior of Emmanuel Baptist Church in the Longhollow Community.
“They were hard workers,” said Dewey Sherrel, Sunday School director and adult Sunday School teacher at Emmanuel.
The team arrived Aug. 9, a Saturday, led the worship service the next day and labored Monday through Thursday on prepping and painting the church, said Sherrell.
The group began early each morning and worked until it was so dark they couldn’t see.
The facelift, Sherrell continued, was something greatly needed at the church, which has about 67 members and currently is pastorless. “We were glad for them to do it,” Sherrell said.
Answered call
The whole project came to its fruition quickly with the help of the Internet. Sherrell said he shared with Ben Chandler, director of missions for Tennessee River Association, about the church’s need for repainting.
Chandler then posted the request on The Bridge (an Internet site of the North American Mission Board) and the Marianna group soon accepted the challenge, said Sherrell. Emmanuel provided the materials needed for the work.
Some Emmanuel members were able to help with the project, Sherrell said. Chandler said Eastside team members stayed with him and his wife, Patricia, and with members of Center Point Baptist Church, Scottsboro, and First Baptist Church, Stephenson.
Teamwork
With the exception of the steeple and the steps, all the exterior ws repainted by the missions team.
Others in the church and community agreed to take care of those last two details, Sherrell explained.
Had the Florida team not taken on the task, Emmanuel would have had to hire someone to do it, noted Sherrell.
Most of the church members, he explained, are not of an age or capability to do such work.
“It was a good partnership with Eastside Baptist Church in Marianna, Fla.,” Chandler stated, describing the project members as a “good team in action.”
This experience, Chandler continued, has strengthened Emmanuel and created excitement about its future.
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