Recently two associations from the South Carolina Baptist Convention joined in signing a three-year covenant with Calvary Church in War, W.Va. War, where the floods of 2001 and 2002 damaged many homes, is in McDowell County, the poorest in the nation.
Bill Harris, Union County director of missions, traveled alone to War earlier this year to assess the community and their need for help. During his venture, he landed at the local Team Center for a night of rest.
“I ended up sleeping in a chair that night, but that’s when I met John Dill,” Harris said.
Dill, Welsh Neck Association director of missions, was also on a missions endeavor in McDowell County, with a team of five volunteers. After some discussion, Dill and Harris agreed that the results of their assessments were the same. The citizens of McDowell County, specifically War, need help reconstructing their homes and their lives. Because they shared a similar vision, Dill and Harris decided to join efforts and forces to impact McDowell County by creating and pledging to a three-year covenant with Calvary Church in War.
According to Harris and Dill, pastor Walter Goad, 82, is pleased to see help arrive at Calvary Church, the only Southern Baptist church in War.
Harris’ goal for the three-year partnership is to uplift Calvary Church so it can make an impact on the lives of McDowell County residents. “My heart in this thing is to strengthen Calvary Baptist Church,” Harris said. “Thousands of people come and put band aids on it. We need a major surgery.”
Calvary Church currently has 18 members, and only two are men. Harris and Dill desire to gain involvement from the men in the community, but realize the volunteers who minister in War must establish trusting relationships with the locals. They feel able to accomplish this with the long-term partnership.
“We want to establish some continuity and show them we care,” Dill said.
The two men with their teams plan to follow up on each other’s visits rather than going simultaneously. Harris and his team will return to War June 2-6, and will build three showers and three restrooms to accommodate future mission volunteers. The Welsh Neck team will go Friday, June 20 and the following week to lead Vacation Bible School and Backyard Bible Clubs.
We pray that more associations and churches will develop long-term strategic missions relationships like this one. If every church had an Acts 1:8 strategy our communities, state, nation and world would be very different. The Missions Mobilization Group is available to work with churches toward an Acts 1:8 strategy.
