Fellowship News

Turners help connect churches to invisible poor in Washington D.C., Baltimore

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:06:54 GMT

Brandon and Tirzah Turner minister among the invisible poor in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Carla Wynn Davis photo

ATLANTA – It’s just connecting the dots, really. A church wanting to minister to its community; a local urban ministry needing help; the invisible awaiting some hope; and a couple of recent seminary graduates connecting all the pieces.

Brandon and Tirzah Turner are Cooperative Baptist Fellowship affiliates, who live in Frederick, Md., and serve among the invisible poor in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Their goal as affiliates is to "get [churches] to look at the world differently, biblically through the eyes of Christ," Tirzah said. "You’re so used to your comfort zone, but if you look five feet beyond, there’s something bigger out there."

That bigger world includes a large number of people in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., who are among the invisible poor. It can mean they are homeless, refugees, struggling to financially survive or even victims of human trafficking. The Turners visit local churches to advocate for the invisible poor and provide congregations with information about existing local ministries and how the church can become involved.

"Just the two of us can’t minister to this entire corridor," Tirzah said. "If we can get churches to have a vision for their own neighborhoods, then they can start the ministry."

Seeking to help churches fulfill their God-given mission, the Turners want churches to be better informed about what is happening around their church building. Through demographic research, the Turners help churches understand what ministry opportunities are outside their doors.

"We don’t keep it just at physically poor, but those hurting spiritually and emotionally," Brandon said.

Graduates of Garner Webb University’s M. Christopher White School of Divinity, a CBF partner school, the Turners believe in and encourage churches to engage in holistic ministry, addressing both physical and spiritual needs.

"Their first felt need isn’t their soul. It’s their body – their stomach," Tirzah said. "You can’t listen if your stomach is growling louder than anything else. With the invisible poor, you have to deal with justice issues before they can ever listen to the spiritual part."

The Turners pose a question to churches about what it means for the church to be missional in its community. They aim to resource, inspire and cast a vision for ministry, but ultimately the decision to act falls to church members.

"It’s a whole lot easier to be hands off than hands on," Tirzah said. "We try to give churches the vision that they can [minister] and that they just need to be brave enough to go out and do that."

The Turners were commissioned as CBF affiliates in 2006, a perfect fit for the Turners’ unique ministry callings. While Brandon said they "both wanted to help the most neglected," Tirzah wanted to be a missionary, and Brandon wanted to minister through a secular occupation. Now, he works as an electrician, and Tirzah volunteers with urban ministries when she’s not teaching at a tutoring center.

Eventually the Turners hope for the development of a network of local churches, which will keep each other encouraged and informed about ministry opportunities and justice issues.

"The goal is that they won’t need us anymore," Tirzah said. But for now, "we’re on the edge of being able to do some more things."

The Turner’s encourager church is Adairville Baptist Church in Spindale, N.C., where Brandon was on staff before he and Tirzah moved to the Washington, D.C., area.

If you are interested in serving through the Fellowship, contact Matt Norman at (770) 220-1609 or mnorman@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

More than 500 N.C. Baptists serve in weekend state missions blitz

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:43:35 GMT

HENDERSON, N.C. – The small Flint Hill neighborhood in Henderson, N.C., hadn’t seen

Anna Selby of McGill Baptist Church in Concord, N.C., helps at the Flint Hill site during the CBFNC missions weekend. Carla Wynn Davis photo

traffic like this in years. Cars and church vans packed in a small lot, bulldozers moving through the neighborhood, and dumpsters in the street. People buzzed about picking up pieces of houses that once were, chainsaws fired, and hammers clanged at old bricks – all in the shadow of a local church wanting community change.

“Whenever you see something like this unfold, you know God did it,” said Brenda Peace, pastor of Greater Little Zion United Holy Church – a congregation that wants to transform its own struggling community.

The congregation came a step closer Nov. 2-4 as members of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches in North Carolina converged on Vance, Warren and Halifax counties for a weekend missions blitz. About half of the 500 participants helped in Henderson, where First Baptist Church has been partnering with Pearce and other African-American churches for community change.

“Your being here sends a powerful message to us that we are not in this mission alone – that we are joined by other Baptists who care all across our state,” Paul Baxley, pastor of First Baptist Henderson, told participants before work began. “What you are doing is making an investment in hope.”

The event was sponsored by CBF of North Carolina and hosted by four area CBF partner churches already active in their communities – First Baptist Henderson, Littleton Baptist, Warrenton Baptist and Wise Baptist.

“We couldn’t do this without local churches taking the lead,” said CBFNC coordinator Larry Hovis. “This is a local church-driven mission.”

CBFNC was in part inspired by its work with Together for Hope, CBF’s national rural poverty initiative in 20 of the poorest U.S. counties. Henderson and Littleton have “pockets of poverty,” said CBFNC missions coordinator Linda Jones.

The 500 participants came from all over the state – all ages and all levels of experience to work as one. It included children like Jonathan Dean, who came with the Summit Church in Webster to help carry off pieces of a demolished house, and those retired like B.F. Waddell, who fired up a chainsaw while he celebrated his 86th birthday.

“If you can [serve], you might as well,” said Waddell, a member of McGill Baptist Church in Concord.

About 30 miles away in Littleton, Emily Lemons encouraged children while she helped with carnival games.

“It shows them that somebody loves them and cares about them,” said Lemons, a member of Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. “Hopefully they’ll make the connection that God loves them.”

That hope was shared by many serving in Littleton, whether they were spinning cotton candy at the carnival, making supply kits at a pregnancy support center, picking up trash around the community or painting the local John 3:16 community ministry center.

“We hope we make a little bit of difference,” said Tim Cunningham, a member of Westwood Baptist Church in Cary, N.C.

It’s that little that goes a long way in Littleton, where Littleton Baptist Church pastor Mike Currin was thrilled with how much had been done in one weekend.

“There’s no way [our church alone] could do all these things we’re doing in one day,” he said. “This gives people hope that people care.”

The large turnout gives CBFNC leadership hope that participants will be inspired to begin being more missional in their own communities.

“I’m hoping they’ll see how you do this and take it back with them,” Jones said.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Togba-Doyas share Christ’s love in Liberia through words, deeds

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:40:01 GMT

Motima, 15, is a single mother in Liberia going to formal school for the first time thanks to the ministry of CBF field personnel Calandra and Jessy Togba-Doya. Photo courtesy of the Togba-Doyas

ATLANTA – At 15 years old, Motima is already a wife and a mother. She’s grieved the loss of her parents, who were killed in the Liberian civil war. She’s made it through "sande," the tribal bush school where seclusion from society and female circumcision is common. But something she never got the opportunity to do was go to school – until now.

Because of the new Balama Elementary School, Motima is getting a formal education, which is available to few women in rural Liberia. Along with hundreds of other villagers, she’s learning to read and write – one way Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Calandra and Jessy Togba-Doya are empowering a community and being the presence of Christ.

"It is just not enough to preach ‘Jesus saves’ throughout the villages we serve," Jessy said. "People need to meet the gospel being lived out in our lives. We seek to be the presence of Christ through our work by leading lives that point to Christ, being his hands and feet in hopeless situations."

In 2006, the Togba-Doyas helped open the elementary school as one of their first ministry projects in Liberia. Funding for teachers and staff come from Fellowship partner churches and other churches that support the Togba-Doyas’ ministry.

Appointed as field personnel in June 2006, the Togba-Doyas minister primarily in Bong County, where Jessy was born and remains the only person from the region that has completed high school and college. With the opening of the Balama school, he hopes that will eventually change.

It’s hard for that to change if villagers are worried about having enough food to eat or money to survive, so the Togba-Doyas started a micro-loan project to help break the cycle of poverty.

"Micro-loans offer hope to communities … by providing a sustainable approach to community building and empowerment," Jessy said. "Loans allow local residents to break the cycle of poverty and violence."

More than 600 people attended an initial workshop about the program, and 40 families have received $100 in start-up funds for businesses and gardens. Motima and her family received funds and started trading salt, soap and other products to support themselves.

"The courage and determination of Motima and other students at Balama Elementary School, as well as other villagers, continues to inspire us to do what we do," Jessy said.

Businesses have grown 15 percent, which has allowed parents to feed their children at least two meals a day.

"Their smiles tell it all," Jessy said.

Interest levied from the loans goes to provide nutritious meals for Balama Elementary students, giving villagers greater ownership of the school.

With all the development work they do, the Togba-Doyas haven’t lost sight of the reason they came to Liberia – to share Christ. Nearly 20 villagers – including Jessy’s mother – have accepted Christ through watching the Jesus Film. Beyond that, there is need for spiritual and emotional healing after more than 10 years of civil war, where many children were soldiers and many civilians were scarred.

It’s one of the reasons Jessy wanted to return to his homeland and one of the reasons Calandra, a native of Macon, Ga., felt called to minister there, too.

"I fell in love with Liberia through meeting my husband," she said. "He always knew that he would return home, and I began see how my years in ministry and social and employment services could be used in Liberia."

Individuals and churches can support the Togba-Doyas through prayer, financial contributions to their ministry and by serving alongside side them in a short-term missions experience in Liberia.

The Togba-Doyas are CBF affiliates, who serve through the Fellowship’s ministry network but raise their own financial support for their ministry. If you are interested in serving through the Fellowship, contact Matt Norman at (770) 220-1609 or mnorman@thefellowship.info.

New CBF Global Missions gift catalog available in time for holiday shopping

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:18:12 GMT

ATLANTA – Last year, Mark Snipes did most of his Christmas shopping out of one catalog – the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions gift catalog, where money spent helps the most neglected people in the world.

Snipes, a pastoral resident at Haddock Baptist Church in Haddock, Ga., purchased gifts in honor of his fellow church staff, family members and all 41 students in the church youth group.

"I wanted to help the youth connect with … how easy it is to help someone in another country," said Snipes, who spent $1 on behalf of each student to buy three meals for children with disabilities at Angel House ministry in China. "They loved it, and their families loved it. They asked me to get them gift catalogs this year."

Gifts cost anywhere from $1 to $20,000 and help people across the world by providing food, Bibles, agricultural supplies, wells and other needed resources. Gifts have often been purchased for the holidays, birthdays or other celebrations, and in memory or in honor of someone.

Barbara Van Hoose of Sarasota, Fla., has a large family – five children, their spouses and 16 grandchildren. Last Christmas, on behalf of each of them, she bought a blanket for refugees and migrants in the Middle East.

"This caught my eye, and I thought that would be one thing I could do … to involve them personally … [and] to do something that they probably would not have thought of or been aware of," she said.

If a gift is purchased on behalf of an individual, that person receives a card acknowledging that a gift has been purchased in his or her name.

The gift catalog is available at www.thefellowship.info/involved/give/ or by calling (800) 352-8741.

Field personnel reach out to Ukrainian street children, new Christians

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:24:51 GMT

Mina Podgaisky helped start a foster care facility for children who have been orphaned. CBF photo

ATLANTA – When Mina Podgaisky first arrived in Ukraine in winter 2002, she couldn’t see them. She couldn’t recognize the more than 17,000 street children that live in Kiev because they sleep in underground tunnels and basements of high-rise apartment buildings where it’s warm, only coming up to find food. Now she knows they wear shoes with holes and too-big jackets that hide the glue they often sniff "to not feel cold, to not feel the hunger, to not feel the loneliness," Mina said. "It’s what everybody [here] does on the streets."

In the five years since Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Gennady and Mina Podgaisky have lived in Kiev, they have learned how to recognize the street children and how to help transform the lives of these orphans and runaways.

"Being there and just hugging them and answering their questions – that makes a big difference," said Gennady, who is Russian. "It makes a big difference when you talk with them in their own language. [We] bring them something they don’t have and it’s not just food or clothes."

The Podgaiskys form relationships with street children, assist in providing them with basic necessities, and help those who want to move off the streets. That’s why they helped start Village of Hope, a foster care facility operated by the Ukrainian Center for Christian Cooperative, an affiliate of the Ukrainian Baptist Union. Now housing two foster families, the Podgaiskys hope the village will eventually hold up to 10 foster families and up to 100 children, as well as Christian camps for at-risk children, and retreats and conferences. Proceeds from the camp will offset some of the cost of supporting foster families. All these efforts stem from a passion for sharing the love of Christ.

"When I feed the hungry, when I feed the children in the street, when I give clothes to the children in the street, and give them medicine – it’s all in the love of Christ," Mina said.

They also work with a coalition of ministries and individuals, networking and partnering to do more strategic ministry than they could do alone. They lead a Bible study for new or non-Christians, which often lasts for nearly four hours. They are "maturing Christians that are in turn able to bring other people to Christ and to be light and salt in places that they live," Gennady said.

And lives have been changed through their ministry. Because of Village of Hope, two little girls, whose abusive father killed their mother in front of them, now have a loving foster father, mother and brothers. Because of the Podgaisky’s ministry on the streets, one boy accepted Christ and decided to return home – not because he needed to go back but because "he wanted to go back and witness about the one who changed his life," Mina said.

To learn about partnership opportunities with the Podgaiskys, call (800) 352-8741. To financially support their ministry, give to the Offering for Global Missions. To give, go to www.thefellowship.info/involved/give.

Teaching English provides way for college graduate to be Christ’s presence in China

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:54:34 GMT

Dee Edwards, center, spent a year teaching English and being the presence of Christ at a university in Nanning, China. Photo courtesy of Dee Edwards

ATLANTA – Dee Edwards, 23, can’t say that one-on-one English tutoring with Lucy was the highlight of her year teaching in China. It was hard to keep conversation going with a student whose English wasn’t improving very much. Yet Lucy kept coming to her teacher’s office hours every week, and Edwards kept trying.

And one day that broken English conversation turned to matters of faith. They began talking about God, and Edwards shared about her faith in Jesus Christ.

"I know that conversation had a purpose," said Edwards, who served as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship representative to Nanning, China, for a year. "My main job was to plant seeds."

Edward’s work began last August when she began teaching at Xing Jian International College in Guangxi province. Her ministry was relational, showing students Christ through her actions and interactions with them. It wasn’t loud, off-putting evangelism. It was mentioning she believed in God. It was showing her students that she cared enough to be a good teacher. It was putting in that extra effort to make sure her students were progressing. It was being the presence of Christ and being ready to answer the question she prayed she’d be asked, why do you do the things you do?

"The biggest thing was letting them know I cared," she said. "I really think they saw I was different and was kind to them and didn’t give up on them. In the end, I really had some good conversations and knew I had made a difference."

Edwards also worked with a local church, teaching a Sunday evening English class with other CBF representatives to China, Don and Karen Barnes.

Spending a year serving overseas wasn’t something Edwards ever intended to do, but she started feeling called to overseas service during her sophomore year at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. The Fellowship gave her the opportunity through its Student.Go program, which sends college and seminary students on summer, semester and year-long service trips.

That year in China taught Edwards a lot about herself and the world around her, including the wealth of ministry opportunities that surround her each day. She returned to Raleigh in July with a new perspective, now seeing the importance of ministering to internationals living in the United States. Whether immigrants, refugees or international students, "if they can come to know who Jesus is, the impact can go really far," she said.

Now serving as interim youth minister at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Raleigh, Edwards isn’t sure the ministry direction her life will take. But after a year overseas, she knows she doesn’t have to be in China in order to be the presence of Christ.

"We are missionaries here, and the more we start approaching our Christian walk as a call to ministry and as a call to be missionaries, the more that the world’s going to be changed," she said.

To learn about serve opportunities available through CBF, including short-term assignments, call (800) 352-8741 or go to www.thefellowship.info/involved/serve.

To learn about partnership opportunities with the Fellowship in China, call (800) 352-8741.

Tennessee church helps Katrina survivor rebuild home, life

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:31:31 GMT

Sonia St. Cyr, middle, will soon return to her New Orleans home thanks to numerous volunteers, including (left to right) Eva Alito of Rebuilding Together, Monte Vista Baptist Church member Sue Wyatt, CBF of Louisiana disaster response coordinator Reid Doster, and Monte Vista Church pastor Jerry Mantooth

ATLANTA – When Sonia St. Cyr rode out Hurricane Katrina and survived, she called it lucky. When she was flown out of the city before the chaotic aftermath began, she called it unbelievable. But when she arrived at a Maryville, Tenn., evacuee shelter and befriended members of Monte Vista Baptist Church – the church that would eventually restore her New Orleans home – she ran out of words.

"The church is like God’s gift to the world," she said. "Words cannot even begin to say."

But somewhere St. Cyr finds the words to say that this Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner church has been life-giving to her and her family, many who still live in Maryville.

"Not only have they helped my family, they’ve helped me," she said. "More than that, they’ve given me back life."

St. Cyr has multiple sclerosis, which makes it nearly impossible for her to repair her house that flooded during Katrina. She paid a contractor who never delivered services. She didn’t know how long she’d be living in a FEMA trailer in her front yard. But when church members learned she was having trouble rebuilding her New Orleans homes, they stepped in to help.

"We feel that when God places people in our path that we want to be responsive to that," said church member Sue Wyatt.

In six disaster relief trips church members have taken to New Orleans, two have been to help St. Cyr and her family. Now other Fellowship Baptists are helping complete repairs to the house. A $3,000 donation from another Tennessee church – First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro – has also helped in the rebuilding process.

"The need was so great," Wyatt said. "Their resources were drained. We felt these are our neighbors and we’re able to help."

"This is a beautiful story about CBF remaining the presence of Christ, long after the flood-waters have receded and the first responders have moved out to the next disaster scene," said Reid Doster, CBF of Louisiana’s disaster response coordinator.

The St. Cyr house is one of 100 New Orleans homes the Fellowship has committed to helping rebuild over the next three years with an organization called Rebuilding Together. And New Orleans is just one area that is in crucial need of Fellowship Baptists to help in the rebuilding effort.

According to Doster, more than 1,500 Fellowship Baptists have participated in Katrina relief work in Louisiana, and the need continues, particularly in Pearlington, Miss., where more than 80 percent of the community was destroyed. Fellowship Baptists were among the first to respond in Pearlington, and "I would hope we would be one of the last to leave," said Charles Ray, the Fellowship’s disaster response coordinator.

Since fall 2005, Fellowship Baptists have helped clean debris, strip mold from flooded houses, rebuild houses and help families in other ways.

"We do everything without expecting anything in return," Ray said. "We believe this is what Christ would do."

While the Fellowship responded to disasters prior to Katrina, the severity of destruction and need prompted CBF to expand its disaster response program. State CBF organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida now have an inventory of response equipment, including trailers for communication and showering volunteers, and tools for clean up and rebuilding.

State and regional CBF organizations also now designate disaster response coordinators, and Ray hopes many churches will name their own disaster response coordinator. What will also make future response efforts effective is commitment to work with other organizations – American Baptist Churches USA, Volunteers of America and the American Baptist Association.

Meanwhile, both Ray and Doster anticipate Katrina recovery extending through the summer and perhaps years to come.

"[Katrina victims] need to know they haven’t been forgotten," Wyatt said. "It’s not a time to give up on them."

For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact CBF of Louisiana’s disaster response coordinator, Reid Doster at (986) 778-6049 or reid_doster@hotmail.com. Visit www.cbfresponds.com for more on how your church can be involved in disaster response efforts.

Severe storm damages Kentucky CBF church, narrowly misses injuring worshippers

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:24:42 GMT

ATLANTA – Five more minutes, and the severe storm damage Third Baptist Church in Owensboro, Ky., experienced Oct. 18 would have been a lot worse.

Approximately 100 people gathered in the church’s sanctuary for the Kentucky Council of Churches’ annual assembly as a severe thunderstorm blew through Owensboro, possibly causing several tornados. Thirty minutes into the worship service the weather worsened noticeably, and worshippers rushed for shelter in the church’s basement. When it seemed safe to return to the sanctuary, they saw the extensive damage they narrowly missed.

"We went in [the sanctuary], and I was just sick," said James Byrd, the church’s pastor. "We would have had people killed. The bell tower fell in the church. There were 30 to 40 people [in that area], and it would have crushed them."

"Nobody was hurt, and we’re thankful for that," said Charles Douglas, the church’s minister of music.

In western Kentucky, this severe line of storms injured at least nine people and caused widespread power outages and wind damage, according to Associated Press reports.

When the church’s bell tower collapsed, it destroyed large sections of the balcony, the church’s grand piano and many pews. Stained glass windows shattered, dust scattered, the parking lot filled with debris, and the family life center suffered water and structural damage.

"These things do happen," said Ken Adkisson, a 54-year member of the church. "But we’ll survive. We’re just fortunate those people got out."

Byrd said the church has insurance to cover what he estimates is $1 million in damages that may take six months or longer to repair.

The congregation will gather in the parking lot for a brief worship service Oct. 21, and Byrd said they’ll decide soon on an alternate worship space.

"Just pray for us," Byrd said. "We’ve done everything we know to do, and we’re just waiting to see what’s next. We covet the prayers."

CBF partner church site of deadly N.C. stabbing of Meals on Wheels workers

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:37:23 GMT

ATLANTA – Lakeside Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, N.C., a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner church, experienced tragedy Oct. 18 as two Meals on Wheels workers were stabbed in the church’s kitchen while they were preparing meals for that day’s delivery.

Debbie Kornegay, who directed the Rocky Mount Meals on Wheels program, died as result of her wounds, and assistant director Eve Beasley was hospitalized in critical condition, according to news reports. Investigators said robbery could have been the motive.

"Certainly this has shocked our entire community," said the church’s pastor Jody Wright in an Oct. 18 news conference at the church. "Why the suspect chose this place or these ladies is unclear. What remains is that two wonderful individuals who spent their time making certain that people in our community received a hot meal each day were senselessly attacked."

Wright said the church provides space for the Meals on Wheels program, which delivers hot meals to the community’s elderly and disabled. Neither woman was a member of the church, he said.

"Our prayers are offered to the families … and to our entire community," Wright said. "Rocky Mount is a close community. We stand by each other."

The church held a community-wide prayer service Oct. 19.

"Lakeside Baptist Church is a vital part of the CBF family," said CBF of North Carolina coordinator Larry Hovis. "The concern and prayers of the CBFNC family are extended to Lakeside Baptist Church and the surrounding community during this time of tragedy."

More than 200 serve rural county in CBF of South Carolina’s first statewide workday

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:21:38 GMT

More than 200 people served in Allendale County on Oct. 13 as part of CBF of South Carolina’s first work day. Allendale County is the state’s poorest county. Photo courtesy Sue Poss

ATLANTA – One Allendale, S.C., man said he’d never experienced the love of Jesus like he did Saturday, Oct. 13, as more than 200 church members from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner churches in South Carolina converged in Allendale county for CBF of South Carolina’s first statewide workday.

“It really stirs your heart to know that in a small way you can affect other people’s lives,” said Ed Skaggs, who participated with 12 others from Fernwood Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C. “It’s not always the big things you do; it’s the little things that can mean a lot to people.”

Church members representing 22 South Carolina churches – including some who had never participated in a mission project before – worked on construction projects, including demolishing interiors of abandoned houses that will be refurbished. Teams visited the local nursing home, sorted clothes at a thrift shop, cleaned debris and led a backyard Bible club.

"The work turned into a Jesus thing," said CBF of South Carolina moderator Helen Phillips. "We did something in the name of Jesus that made a difference."

It was CBF of South Carolina’s first attempt at a statewide workday in Allendale. Instead of their usual fall convocation at a partner church, they rallied to serve with a partner ministry in the state’s poorest county.

"[The coordinating council] thought instead of having a meeting, why don’t we do something," said Marion Aldridge, coordinator for CBF of South Carolina.

Inspired by Together for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s national rural poverty initiative in 20 of the poorest U.S. counties, CBF of South Carolina committed several years ago to help the state’s poorest county. So far, they have partnered with First Baptist Church in Allendale and with Christ Central Ministries (CCM) to assist people in crisis.

"We’re too small to hire somebody and put them on staff [in Allendale], so we began to partner with Christ Central," Aldridge said. "At that time, Christ Central and CBF had nothing but a dream, but we began to send work crews down there to renovate an old house that was to be used as a halfway house. Now there is a woman's shelter and a men's shelter."

Allendale County borders Georgia in the southwestern corner of the state. Like many rural counties, Allendale hasn’t experienced the economic growth like other areas of the state. According to U.S. Census reports, more than 30 percent of the county’s residents live under the federal poverty line.

"Allendale has wonderful people, and [poverty] hasn’t deteriorated the quality of people," said Carol Holladay, who serves as associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Allendale. "It was wonderful to see so many people come together to help people in Allendale. There’s a spirit that we’re trying to improve things [in Allendale], and having people here just reaffirmed that."

With the history of poverty in the county longstanding and deep-rooted, leadership insists that the more than 1,000 hours of volunteer service on Oct. 13 is just a start for CBF of South Carolina.

"This will not be the last time we’ll go," Phillips said.

To read more about CBF of South Carolina’s work in Allendale, visit www.cbfofsc.org/missionRelated/allendale.html. For more about Together for Hope, visit www.ruralpoverty.net.