We all rose early in anticipation of the day ahead of us. We met in the meditation room before breakfast and shared our excitement about the activities that were planned for the day. Before the first worship service, breakfast is always served, which is provided by various church groups around town. That is such a blessing for people who might not have gotten a breakfast anywhere else. We got in line with others who were there to attend the first church service. It was a joy to be able to sit and converse with members of the diverse community who make up the heart and soul of the Church for All People.
After breakfast, we joined others who were waiting for the worship service to start. The church welcomes people of all classes and races and offers hospitality, acceptance, hope, and the love of Jesus, not matter who you are or what you’ve done. The energy, love, and joy of the Lord was evident in that place and could be seen on the faces of the people in the congregation and heard in the music of the praise band and choir. Since it was Father’s Day, the common theme of “father” was heard in the songs, scripture, and the sermon. They all tied together beautifully!
At the end of the service, our team members reported to Gwen, who coordinates the second breakfast, and were able help to serve the people who had come for the second service. We welcomed the help of our eager young volunteer Pashur, who had served us breakfast before the first service. When everyone had come through the breakfast line, it was time to attend one of the groups that meet during the second service. Our team members split up and attended different classes that were of particular interest to them, which included a children’s class, youth class, and an intentional prayer ministry class. All of us shared our experiences and impressions afterwards. Jill, Mark and Doug met with the youth and heard their dreams and hopes for the future. Sara and John joined the prayer ministry and lifted all the individual prayer requests and prayed for every person who’d attended the worship service. Becky and Robyn enjoyed spending time with the children and loved their enthusiasm, creativity and joyful singing of their favorite songs.
We were invited to eat pizza with the youth group and Pastor Josh. Katelin also joined us in our time of fellowship as we ate, talked and laughed with the group. Team members and youth worked hard afterwards getting the Free Store ready for the volunteers who would come the next day to hang newly donated clothing. We unpacked bags full of clothing and other items and sorted them. While the loads of donations are a blessing, it’s a never-ending task to keep the bags unpacked, sorted and put out so they’re ready when people come to the store to shop. We were amazed at the energy it requires to keep the store going day after day. The Free Store is the flagship ministry of Church for All People and has distributed over $2 million in free clothing and household items.
Afterwards, we joined Margaret, who is the housing specialist and who will soon take on the additional role of youth group leader when Pastor Josh moves to Wapakoneta to become the senior pastor at a Methodist church there. Margaret drove us all around the neighborhood and pointed out all the houses that had been rehabbed and built to provide decent affordable housing for the inhabitants of Southside Columbus. Wow!! We were blown away by the magnitude of what’s been done by a congregation of around 250 people who have partnered with nearby Nationwide Children’s Hospital, several individual donors, and a collaborative realty group. It was awesome to see what God has done in this community!
For dinner, the team journeyed to downtown Columbus and enjoyed a meal topped off by a shared piece of Buckeye cheesecake! Devotions included sharing of our individual “highs” of the day. We’re all anticipating another great day tomorrow as we head to the Freedom School to volunteer and visit the Reeb Avenue Center and Charitable Pharmacy.
