As many as 1,000 North
Carolina Baptist churches fanned out through their neighborhoods April 24 and
May 1 conducting servant ministry in a second statewide Operation Inasmuch
effort.
From Murphy to Manteo,
edge to edge and mountains to the sea North Carolina Baptists painted, planted,
potted and preached with their actions a selfless, servant spirit, sometimes
coordinating with churches of other races and denominations to serve in Jesus’
name.
Coordinated by N.C.
Baptist Men utilizing a method originated by David Crocker when he was pastor
at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, Operation Inasmuch is growing into a
national movement. On two consecutive spring Saturdays in North Carolina, it
was a homegrown movement that moved many to action and some to tears.
In North Hampton
County, where Connie Vann coordinated the efforts of three churches, Grace had
lived in her house 60 years. She just had a heart pace maker installed. Houses
on both sides were vacant as neighbors had died and her own yard was so
overgrown her house appeared vacant, as well until youth and sponsors cleared
it up.
“Isn’t it wonderful?
Ya’ll are the sweetest things,” Grace said.
Vann had participated
in Operation Inasmuch in 2008 and said people at Conway Baptist Church where he
is a member “talked about that day all summer.”
The church did another
event on their own the following year and Vann said, “It was really good to see
the fellowship and the cooperation that a mission day can bring. No other
mission work garners as much support as Operation Inasmuch.”
Vann thanked Crocker
for following through on his inspiration for Operation Inasmuch, and said, “We
should all get goose bumps at the way God pulls all His people together to
accomplish a goal.”
He said churches that
do not participate in Operation Inasmuch “don’t seem to understand the benefit
they get out of it.”
Churches want to be
involved in missions, he said, but so many “can’t afford to go a long way” and
they could do missions at home as a church and effect their communities.
Teenager Allyson
Leggett stopped raking in Grace’s yard long enough to say, “We should be out
here doing this for the lady to show her that we care about her.”
Because Conway Baptist
Church has an active Baptist Men’s group that takes on handyman tasks as
needed, and has now done three consecutive annual Operation Inasmuch events,
“people know us in this area,” Vann said.
Terri Martin, a petite
woman helping to pull an old trailer house away from the permanent structure to
which it had been attached so the elderly homeowner could get an equity loan to
make repairs, said, “It’s nice to be involved. It builds community in church to
do projects together.”
“I wanted to help serve
my church and community and this is my community,” said Martin’s friend Marlo
Ricks. Phillip Ricks ran the backhoe that was pulling the trailer apart. Young
people like Morgan Garris and Hayley Burgess made bracelets that will become
prizes and witnessing tools for a mission team going to Canada this summer.
Stewart Woodard, his
son Michael and Skip Ritchie built a ramp and railing onto a house for a
94-year old woman who lives alone and drives weekly to the grocery store.
Stewart used to mow her grass when he was a kid.
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Inasmuch as you do for the least neighbors