Cooking Up Fun
Forest Dale Church of Christ (Cincinnati, Ohio) multiplied its VBS attendance, and its community presence, with a series of family cookouts this summer. The special events launched with two barbecues in early June—one at a local Wal-Mart, another at a nearby Sam’s Club—at which parents could register their children for Forest Dale’s VBS. The church fed 450 people and distributed more than 500 Bibles during the two events, and increased attendance by almost 40 percent at its evening VBS the next week.
Forest Dale is continuing its outreach by hosting community cookouts every few weeks until October.
www.forestdale.org
Dance Partners
Although Crossroads Church (Portland, Oregon) organizes a food bank that provides dry goods and frozen food to thousands of people, senior minister Tom Burgess wanted to expand the church’s community service in new ways. After learning that more than 200 kids in a local school district currently have no permanent home, Crossroads partnered with the district’s “Gateway Project” homeless program.
Linda Schlechter, a member at Crossroads, organized a clothing drive. The church provided families and small groups with large boxes and Crossroads members, coworkers, and neighbors collected $30,000 worth of clothing and other items for the needy students.
“After that 40-day project ended, we wanted to do more,” Burgess says. When Schlechter learned almost two dozen Gateway Project students could not afford to attend prom, she began sharing the need with local businesses—and they responded by donating thousands of dollars for dresses, tuxedos, and flowers.
On prom day, each girl enjoyed having her hair and makeup done, and all the students changed into their new outfits at the church before a limo (complete with plasma TV, karaoke, and snacks!) chauffeured the group to a complimentary dinner at a restaurant on the river and then to the dance.
“We received letters from several of the girls who said they felt like princesses that night,” Burgess says. “We plan to stay involved with the project next year, and hope to partner with even more local organizations.”
www.crossroadsportland.com
Happy “Campers”
Penny Clayton expected most people to avoid a program called “Boot Camp.”
“I began the class with a friend five years ago,” says Clayton, who serves as the wellness director and as an administrative assistant at Mount Pleasant Christian Church (Greenwood, Indiana). “We thought we’d be the only two who showed up.”
Although this seemed a logical assumption—the intense workouts began each morning at 5:15—40 people attended the first Boot Camp. Today hundreds of people participate in the early morning, five-week sessions and the other, slightly later, “Boot Camp Daylight” classes.
In addition to bleacher workouts, strength training, and cardio sessions, each morning includes a prayer time. The spiritual emphasis continues with a weekly devotion and testimony, mandatory Scripture memorization, and daily e-mails based on that Scripture.
“We offer Boot Camp to anyone who wishes to attend, and we’ve welcomed Buddhists, atheists, and others,” Clayton says. “But we also unapologetically include the spiritual content.”
Recently Clayton’s team also added an optional service component. “We raise money or donations for a different local ministry during each Boot Camp,” she says. “It’s become one of the most significant aspects of the entire five weeks.”
Boot Camp ends with a banquet for all participants and their families. Clayton presents graduation certificates and awards for perfect attendance, and a representative from that local ministry speaks briefly. A video montage celebrates the group’s achievements.
In addition to Boot Camp, Mount Pleasant’s Wellness Ministry offers a variety of other classes, including two special sessions for senior adults. Several other Greenwood-area churches have started similar programs, and Boot Camp will soon travel to Poland through a missionary who plans to lead a class.
“One of our Boot Camp ladies lost 30 pounds, participated in our optional nutrition sessions, and lost 40 more,” says Clayton. “But the best part is she realizes she lost the weight because she finally surrendered this part of her life to the Lord, and when anyone asks her how she did it she gives all the glory to God.
“God can use anything for his glory—even an exercise program.”
www.mount.org
