Brookville Road Community Church

The team has arrived to Memphis! We got settled into our losing church, Monument of Love, and then got right to work. 

Most of us went to a community outreach event where local doctors where giving out vaccines and bags of food if needed. 

Dr. Lyons told us about the impact this ministry is having on the community and how the vaccine is being distributed here. 

We were able to go to our partner church, Hope Fellowship Baptist Church, this morning. We were able to meet Pastor James and Ms. Sandra. They are amazing faithful servants! We led 3 songs in worship and helped in every aspect of the service. 

The church is situated in an apartment complex. The heart of the church is to be a light for those in the community. They really focus on ministering to the children in hopes that their lives will be changed and that will impact their families. 

This afternoon we headed down to see the site where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated which is now the Civil Rights Museum. 

Pastor James and Ms. Sandra shared their story about how they started and have remained so faithful to the ministry with Hope Fellowship Church. We were able to pray over them and encourage them. 

Afterwards, we walked around the apartment complex to hang up posters and invite the kids children's ministry we have planned each morning. We are so excited to get started with the awesome children we met today. 

This morning we were able to do VBS with the kids in the complex. This was extremely exciting for Pastor James because it was the first time they were able to do a larger children's event since last March. 

We split the children into groups and did stations for songs, Bible story, crafts, and games. 

Half of our group served at The Heights CDC (Community Development Cooperation). They are building a mature playground for the community to use. The actual playground that is in the picture is only available to students and the school during school hours. The ministry is working to build a unique and accessible playground to be able to be used by the whole community at all times. 

Our groups painted telephone poles that have been repurposed to be a part of the playground. 

This afternoon half of the team worked on repairing a ramp in front of the one of the trailers of the church facility. The team worked hard and was determined to finish it and make it look great!

After lunch, half of the group went to the Neighborhood Christian Center. The just finished up their virutal Spring Jam last week. Our group helped to clean up from that event. We also got candy organized in preparation for them to pack Easter baskets that will be given out to the people they serve. 

Then, we had enough time to shot some hoops!

This morning half of the group went to the Heights CDC to finish painting the power poles that will be used on the community playground. 

Some of the group installed a balance beam for the playground. Others weeded and cleaned flower beds around the school. 

The other half of our group was at Pastor James' church leading VBS. We shared the story about the Good Samaritan. We did a skit, had the students create a skit, had a blast doing songs, did crafts, and had an amazing time. 

We have enjoyed getting to know the kids in the area and share the love and joy of Christ with them. Many of these children have not been in in-person school, have not had youth group activities, and have been overjoyed to be back together at church! 

After lunch some of our group went to the Neighborhood Christian Center. They had pallets and pallets of donated items that we were able to sort for them. Our team unpacked each pallet, sorted, organized, and then repacked the items into usable boxes for the center to bless people in the community with. 

It was hard work! Each of us were giving our all so that the task could be completed.

Some of us were able to serve Pastor James and the church by finishing the repairs on the ramp, cleaning everything possible inside and out, and getting the church ready for Easter weekend. 

The church recently opened back up to in-person services at the beginning of March. We are hoping many will come to church this Sunday to hear the Best News ever!

The church members of Hope Fellowship made Advent to Easter bags. The bags were filled with eggs containing scriptures and the names of God for the families to read through together. 

We went around the apartment complex giving the bags out to the parents of the children. 

We were a little nervous at first talking to the parents about doing Bible study with this children, but by the end of the afternoon we were confident and excited to talk to any and everyone we saw. 

Daxton and Gavin helped Mrs. Sandra with the computers. The computers are used for children's homework assignments with Mrs. Sandra and others helping them when needed. Having the computers checked, updated, and ready for homework help is very important to the church and the outreach they do within the apartment complex.

We had our last day of VBS this morning! We shared the Easter story of Jesus' crucification and resurrection. After the story we asked of anyone wanted to accepted Christ as their Savior. We now have a new sister Christ! Our new friend, Dania, was saved today at VBS! Please pray with us for her as she begins her faith journey. 

We had a blast playing games, dancing, singing, doing crafts, and having a great time. These kids impacted us and we hope we did the same to them. We're going to miss them!

We were able to work at the twelfth house the Heights CDC has bought. They buy dilapidated houses in the neighborhood and rehab them in order to provide more affordable housing options.

We were able to start with litter Pick up at the house. The backyard was covered in trash and to be able to start with the rehab of the house, this is the first step. 

The Heights CDC has a goal of picking up 20,000 lbs of litter by September in order to qualify for a certain grant that would greatly impact the community.

We ended our awesome time in Memphis with Central BBQ, a staple here. 

We are making our last stop at the Bass Pro Pyramid and then we'll be heading home to Indiana. We have had an amazing week. We can't wait to share more about it. 

Thank you Brookville for serving in Memphis! You are all awesome!