Impacting Our Valley (07/12/12)

Warren Sentinel Weekly Pulpit

July 12, 2012

On Sunday, July 15 members of Rockland Community Church, Marlow Heights Baptist Church, Front Royal United Methodist Church, and Streetwise Ministries will join with over 100 adults and teenagers from eight other churches from surrounding counties and elsewhere in Virginia for a week long service project. We will be doing minor and not so minor repairs, fixing roofs, painting, cleaning up yards, and things like building a ramp for someone with mobility limitations.

The thirteen work sites we are tackling are located in Warren, Frederick, Clarke, and Shenandoah counties, as well as in the city of Winchester. Most of the volunteers will be spending the week at the Front Royal Campground just south of Front Royal. Each morning teams will head out from the campground to their work sites. We will then meet for supper and an evening worship service at Marlow Heights Baptist Church. It is a very exhausting, but rewarding week.

According to their website (www.impactthevalley.org), “Impact the Valley (IV) is a local, ecumenical, mission event bringing youth and adult teams together to repair homes of low income families and serve homeless families in the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.” IV, which began in 2005, is a ministry of Teens Opposing Poverty which was founded in 1987. In addition to administering IV, Teens Opposing Poverty (TOP) serves the poor and homeless in Washington, D.C., Winchester, Fredericksburg, Richmond, Lynchburg, Newport News, and Charlottesville.

The mission of TOP “is to raise up an army of youth who are actively involved in the fight against hunger and poverty, not just as an annual event, but as a regular part of their lives.” If you are interested in learning more about TOP and/or are interested in serving the poor, hungry, and homeless with them, I encourage you to visit their website (www.teensopposingpoverty.org). On August 10^th, TOP will be hosting a “Night in a Box” at the Admiral Richard E. Byrd Middle School in Winchester. Have you ever wondered what it is like to be homeless? If so, please visit their www.nightinabox.org website to learn how you can participate in this awareness event.

Having participated in IV for the last four years, I can attest to the fact that it is a wonderful way to spend a week (which usually ends up being the hottest of the summer) serving others. The actual work that we get done is important. But the relationships that are built among the volunteers and between the volunteers and the residents of the homes we are working on are far more important and lasting. Each year I've heard both volunteers and those we serve comment about the impact the week has had on them. While we hope to be impacting our valley for Christ, we often end up being the ones most impacted by living out Jesus' instructions to love our neighbors.

Impact the Valley couldn't happen without the support of local churches, the volunteers who pay their own way to be part of this ministry, and others who provide financial and material support. Unfortunately, this year's financial support has fallen short of what is needed to do all the work that we hope to accomplish.

If you or your church would like to make a donation, you can do so by contacting the director of Teens Opposing Poverty, Steve Jennings, at contact@teensopposingpoverty.org or by calling toll free 866-955-6260. Checks can also be mailed to: Teens Opposing Poverty, PO Box 933, Berryville, VA 22611. TOP is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Even the smallest gifts will make a big difference in what we can do for others this summer.

Saint Francis of Assisi is often credited as having said, “Preach the gospel always. Use words when necessary.” The volunteers serving with Impact the Valley during the third week of July will definitely be proclaiming the gospel in both word and deed. Please pray for our safety and that not only will the lives of those we are serving be impacted, but that our own lives will be too.