The hot summer sun beats down on a young man’s forehead as he drives another nail into a roof. Usually he’d be reclining in an air-conditioned room playing video games, but instead his shirt is soaked with sweat from working in the humid air.
He doesn’t mind. He’s making a difference.
A young woman is giving a home a much-needed fresh coat of paint. She is missing an important week of cheerleading practice, but she knows she made the right decision.
Their stories mirror those of about 2,000 students and adults from across the country who will serve in Alabama this summer with World Changers, an initiative of the North American Mission Board.
World Changers volunteers have worked or will work in Anniston, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. Another 20,000 “world changers” are serving in 85 other cities across the United States.
For 21 years, individuals from churches and schools have raised their own funds (averaging $250 a person) to take part in a week with World Changers, working on projects aimed at improving substandard housing.
The purpose is to give them a “venue in which to live out the faith they have in a loving God,” according to the World Changers website.
Once all the groups arrive in their host city, they are divided into crews and given their project assignment. They kick off each morning with a devotion before heading out to work sites for a full day of work. Each evening, they gather for worship and then rest for their next day of hard work.
In Birmingham, more than 750 students and adults will work more than five weeks, partnering with Birmingham Baptist Association (BBA); Metro Changers, a year-round home rehabilitation ministry of BBA; and the city to complete various roofing, painting, landscaping and other home improvement projects.
This was the third year Conor Martin, a high school senior from Fairview Church, Lebanon, Tenn., has participated in World Changers. It was his first time to serve in Birmingham. He was part of a June 11–18 crew responsible for putting a new roof on an elderly woman’s home in the Sherman Heights neighborhood.
“This is what God calls us to do. He calls us to be missionaries, and we’re being missionaries by putting a roof on a house,” Martin said.
But as fellow Fairview team member Austin Kemp pointed out, they weren’t just completing projects.
“It’s a big part of it, but the bigger part of it is Jesus,” he said.
The first Birmingham group reported 108 gospel presentations made in the community, with several people requesting more information or prayer.
World Changers teams have worked in the city since 1992, making a difference in the lives of hundreds of homeowners.
“It’s neat because people see the work we do and make comments that they see that we really are changing the city,” said Hannah Berry, a senior at Judah Christian School in Champaign, Ill.
The April 27 tornado left an out-of-the-ordinary opportunity for the 199 students working in Tuscaloosa June 13–18. The city was scheduled to be a World Changers location for the second year before the tornado hit, but obviously the projects there focused on disaster relief.
Seventeen crews partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to work on debris cleanup projects across Tuscaloosa.
Project coordinator Mark Matson, who has been involved with World Changers for 15 years, said this situation provided an even greater opportunity for students to present the gospel and speak to people about why they were there.
The students made 425 gospel presentations, resulting in 60 professions of faith. Matson said the crews were able to share the hope of the gospel with many who were devastated after the tornado took their homes.
The disaster relief aspect of the projects brought unprecedented media coverage.
“It’s no doubt that a lot of Tuscaloosa has known that World Changers has been here,” Matson said, noting he hopes the attention it received will lead to more funding in the future so more people can be helped.
The city is on the schedule for next year, and Matson hopes to assist in rebuilding the areas cleaned up this year.
For the fifth year, World Changers came to Florence with almost 130 students participating in 11 projects June 20–25.
“Every year, I’m amazed how God matches the talents and abilities of the team members with the needs of the homeowners,” said Tim Ray, who has served as the city’s project coordinator all five years.
Ray called the projects a “team effort,” as homeowners apply through the city and are then screened and chosen for projects based on their need. Churches in Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association assist in providing meals, and the city’s board of education allows students to stay in schools.
“Our goal in Florence is to continue this project as long as the Lord wants us to continue to do so. We consider this an indefinite endeavor,” Ray said.
Huntsville is hosting 270 students June 25–July 2, and Anniston will host 170 July 18–23.
Most students say the World Changers experience changes them as much as it changes the face of the city in which they serve.
Allison Leflie, a student from First Baptist Church, Woodlawn, Tenn., participated for the first time this year. She said initially she wasn’t looking forward to the week in Birmingham but when she saw the difference her team was making, it changed her attitude.
“I’m going to have to change my whole lifestyle. It’s going to be hard but it’s worth it,” Leflie said.
Although the event is primarily for students, they aren’t the only ones impacted by the trip, said Derrick Cronk, the high school director for First, Woodlawn, who served as a chaperone for the group.
“When you serve others and are being obedient, it’s always a blessing. … I would encourage even adults to get involved in it,” he said. “If they’ve never experienced it, it’s a blessing. If they get involved, they’ll never quit.”
For more information, visit www.world-changers.net.
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