ODESSA – First Baptist Church here ramped up its efforts to transform lives within their community this spring.
For several years, First Odessa has had a passion for missions. For three years, they have sent a team to Nicaragua. For six years, they’ve been to Brazil. A mission team of 90 will go to Minneapolis in July. Yet Mission Pastor David Vailes said that some people in the community, as well as in the church, expressed concern that they were not doing enough to reach people with the gospel in their own town.
“They had a point,” he admitted.
In order to direct the church’s mission passion toward the people in Odessa, First Baptist Baptist joined Calvary Baptist Church, Odessa, to organize an “I Love Odessa” campaign. In a community outreach blitz, the churches put on a children’s day camp, a block party, and did service projects throughout the town.
Roughly 340 volunteers from the both churches, as well as from the community, participated in the outreach effort, every volunteer paid $35 to participate. The effort attracted the attention of non-Christians in the community, who wanted to help as well.
“This (outreach effort) allowed us to break out of our four walls and show the community a different side of church,” Vailes said. “We welcomed the non-Christians to serve with us. What better way to show the example of Christ?”
By the end of the two days, the 340 “I Love Odessa” volunteers had finished eight major construction projects, done about 100 yard clean-ups, collected 1,700 pounds of food. Also, 50 tubs of clothing, each weighing 50 pounds, were collected. Bibles were given to the homeowners of the projects.
“We tried to stay in the Odessa school district which also includes Bayview and Bates City, but one church member in Raytown needed a new roof, so we went there too,” Vailes said. “We put grocery bags on every door handle in the Odessa city limits.”
The food collection amounted to a year’s worth of provisions for the food pantry. The clothing was distributed during a mission trip to Nicaragua this month.
“This year the city had taken notice of what we were doing and asked if we could do a project for them,” Vailes added. “So we reconstructed a lobby entrance for the community center. An artist from the church painted a new sign.”
As a result of the outreach, many homeowners—including non-Christians—have visited the church. Some of the visitors had no church background whatsoever.
“There is a glimmer of light,” he said. “God showed up and blessed our church through this.”