CHASE CITY, Va. — Twelve different service projects were conducted in and around Chase City April 13 as 55 volunteers from Concord Baptist Church there piloted an Operation Inasmuch project for the Concord Baptist Association.
Church members began the day offering a free drive-thru breakfast at the church as a kick-off for other service projects. After an introductory session and a helium balloon launch, participants spread out across the community to engage in service projects, including:
• Complimentary installation of smoke detectors in several homes without them.
• Groceries carried to patron’s cars at grocery stores.
• Visits and gifts to residents of two nursing homes.
• Thank-you notes to First Responders and other community leaders.
• Bottles of water distributed to persons on the sidewalks of Main Street in Chase City.
• Financial assistance to individuals shopping at a retail outlet.
• Courtesy windshield cleaning at a gas station.
Operation Inasmuch is a national movement that encourages churches to “move beyond their walls” in responding to the needs of persons in local communities, said John Mann, Concord’s pastor. The name comes from the words of Jesus: “Inasmuch as you did it [fed the hungry, healed the sick, visited the imprisoned], you did it for me.”
The Concord Association expects several other of its affiliated churches to conduct similar events during 2013.