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Inasmuch as you do for the least neighbors
Norman Jameson, BR Editor
May 04, 2010
4 MIN READ TIME

Inasmuch as you do for the least neighbors

Inasmuch as you do for the least neighbors
Norman Jameson, BR Editor
May 04, 2010

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.”

BR photo by Norman Jameson

Amos Pope, left, helps Eddie Joyner and J.D. Allen build a ramp to the home he shares with his father. The men are from Conway Baptist Church. See photo gallery.

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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