Tuscaloosa County churches work together to ‘reach out’

More than 600 volunteers from more than 40 Tuscaloosa County churches ministered to and reached out to various communities and schools in the county in June.

The sixth-annual Reach Out Tuscaloosa brought youth and adults out to “simply minister,” said William Scroggins, who launched the ministry effort as an extension of the Tuscaloosa Prayer Network, an interdenominational group of pastors and ministry leaders he started in 1997.

“Reach Out Tuscaloosa is about giving something away with no strings attached,” Scroggins said, estimating that the effort has provided more than $1 million of value to the public schools and communities.

During this year’s event, about 200 students in sixth through 12th grade roofed six houses and held Vacation Bible School for children in the areas where they worked.

And while they were close to home, youth leaders still made the experience similar to a youth camp. The students stayed at American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa June 10–14, working during the day and worshiping each night in the academy’s gym.

John Lowe, minister to students for First Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, coordinated the youth work. “It’s great to do missions trips all around the world, but there are needs right here in our back yard,” he said, explaining that because Tuscaloosa County is home for the volunteers, it’s likely they will interact with the individuals they helped. This makes Reach Out Tuscaloosa an ongoing ministry rather than a one-time experience, he noted.

During the weekends of June 14–16 and 21–23, the adults volunteering with Reach Out Tuscaloosa worked in six public schools to clean, paint, landscape and build whatever was needed.

Scroggins said the idea is for the church to impact the community rather than the community to impact the church.

“You see tangible results,” Lowe said. “You see the tears in their eyes and know you’ve made a difference. I challenged the youth to get in the boat with the people they were ministering to like Jesus did when He got in the boat with the people … (Mark 4:35–41), and that made all the difference in the experience.”