In 15 years, Marshall Lewis has worked on a lot of church buildings. It’s quite a list.
But the list of friends he’s made is even longer.
It’s because the men of Workers for Christ United (WFCU) — volunteers who travel around helping churches with construction projects — don’t just build churches, they build relationships, he said.
“We approach it as a mission to make sure we engage with the local church people, and we generally make some lasting friendships while we work there,” said Lewis, a member of First Baptist Church, Birmingham.
Original vision
That was the vision of Dick Muckleroy, who founded WFCU in 1996 while serving as a part of First, Birmingham. He wanted to support churches that were having “good growing pains” so they could have the facilities they needed to reach more people. And he wanted volunteers to make friends with each other and the church people as they worked, invest in them and together spread the gospel as far and wide as they could.
Larry Byrd, who took over the helm of the organization after Muckleroy passed away in 2015, said its founder had a “phenomenal vision.”
The group focuses on churches within a 300-mile radius and helps them frame up, finish out, repair or renovate buildings.
“The churches provide their own materials, and the organization has funds to pay the way of the volunteers — all we need is their time. There’s no out of pocket expenses for volunteers,” said Byrd, also a member of First, Birmingham.
All the resources are in place — they’re just looking for churches that need their help.
To date, WFCU has worked on dozens of churches around the country, and Byrd says you “can just feel God’s presence on the job site.”
“In the evenings we have worship and fellowship, and it’s very complementary to the work,” he said.
The volunteers — who come from a variety of denominational backgrounds — share with each other during that time, “allowing us to get to know each other in a way we wouldn’t normally get to do,” Byrd said. “The camaraderie that develops there and the spirit of working together is just wonderful.”
Good fellowship
Lewis said the fact that the men come from all different backgrounds and professions only contributes to the good fellowship — not to mention the work they’re able to do.
“We do framing work, basic electrical work, trim work. Depending on who’s with us, we can wind up doing a variety of things,” he said. “We’ve put in floors before, wooden ones and ceramic tile.”
As for Lewis himself, “I’m a really good eater,” he said with a laugh.
But he, like the other men, helps out in a lot of different ways.
“We try to contribute and help however we can,” he said. “It always amazes me through God’s help just how a bunch of guys can get a lot done in a short period of time.”
And the churches are always touched by how people they’ve never met are willing to do whatever they can to help them in their time of need, Lewis said.
Sandy Cavender, a member of Unity Baptist Church, Newnan, Georgia, said, “They’re the greatest group of Christian men ever,” noting that the fellowship her church had with the volunteers while they worked was sweet.
‘New brothers in Christ’
“It’s amazing to see how they work together, how they love the Lord and how they have worked to help us get into our building,” she said. “We feel so honored, and we have new brothers in Christ. We’re the blessed ones.”
And in July, the group will do it all over again at a church in Gordo, Lewis said. They’re looking forward to getting their hands dirty and helping a congregation there install Sheetrock.
But even more than that, he’s looking forward to making more friends.
For more information or to find out how you or your church can be involved, visit www.workersforchristunited.com.
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