Kate Hall, right, teaches a swimming lesson to a Helena-West Helena child during the All Church Challenge July 12-24 in Phillips County, Ark. CBF Photo
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HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. – His name is Frank, and he hadn't been near the water in more than 40 years. And who can blame him? The last time he got in the water, he was 11 years old and nearly drowned.
But now his grandchildren can swim, and they love it so much that he bought them an above-ground pool — and that's what brought him to the Helena-West Helena, Ark., municipal pool for swimming lessons taught by members of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner churches.
The CBF supporters had to help Frank walk into the shallow end of the pool. But, by the end of the lesson, as the rest of the adult swimmers and teachers gathered for the closing prayer circle, Frank — so deathly afraid of water — nonetheless made it out of the shallow end.
"When I turned around, I saw Frank in the circle standing in the mid-section of the pool," said Kate Hall, the swim camp director and a member of Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. "He told the volunteer, 'I have to go under this rope and join that prayer circle, because I have to thank God for what he's enabled me to do tonight.'"
The more than 230 children, teens and adults who took to the pool during swim camp were only one part of the All Church Challenge, a two-week missions blitz in Phillips County, Ark., where CBF field personnel Ben and Leonora Newell have served since 2002. The ministry is part of Together for Hope, the Fellowship's rural-poverty initiative in 20 of the poorest counties in the United States. Phillips County, of which Helena-West Helena is the seat, is in the Mississippi Delta region — one of the nation's most poverty-stricken.
More than 250 Fellowship Baptists representing 21 churches traveled to the county to serve during the challenge July 12-24. Many have come before — some year after year.
"As they make a long-term commitment, their ministry deepens," Leonora Newell said.
One of those churches is First Baptist Church in Elkin, N.C., which has sent teams for three years. Church member Betty Pittman spent the week traveling on the Stories on Wheels bus to Elaine, Ark., where they held a children's camp that included basketball, games and a Bible story.
"We're planting the seed, believing — even though you can't see — that the seed will sprout," she said.
Individuals keep coming back, too, like Van Jones, a member of St. John's Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., who has stayed both weeks for three years.
"I've planted roots in a mission project," he said. "This is worthwhile. I see a lot of change in the community. I might not live here, but I make a lot of friends."
B.F. Waddell, a member of McGill Baptist Church in Concord, N.C., helps prepare the municipal pool pavilion for its dedication during the All Church Challenge closing celebration July 24. CBF Photo
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And that's one of the goals of the All Church Challenge — for local residents to get involved in, and energized by, the work. During the first week, Leonora Newell nearly canceled preschool camp because she didn't have enough workers, but local resident Jean Williams stepped in and said she'd find enough workers from the community. Local residents showed up, and the camp ran as planned.
"God intended local volunteers to get involved," Leonora said.
Fellowship Baptists came from as far away as Virginia and Texas for the blitz. B.F. Waddell, 87, came to help finish a new pavilion at the pool. On the way to Helena and back to North Carolina, where he is a member of McGill Baptist Church in Concord, he stopped to see two friends from his service in World War II. One he hadn't seen in 50 years.
Participants like Waddell spent the two weeks "sharing the gospel in all types of ways," Ben Newell said. They catalogued books for the community-center library, hosted a children's camp, worked in the community gardens, taught water aerobics and visited local residents in the nursing home. They also helped with construction like installing new siding at the home of Charley and Winifred Wells, who saved money all year long to buy the materials.
"This means the whole world to me," said Charley Wells. "I am being blessed. We've waited a long time."
During both weeks of the All Church Challenge, Fellowship Baptists worshipped with local churches at a community-wide worship service featuring local musicians and communion. CBF Photo
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At the end of the two weeks, there was time for celebration. Nearly 400 people gathered to see children perform the new songs they learned, to honor the efforts of local leaders, and to see the new pool pavilion dedicated to Hall, who helped launch the annual swim program four years ago, and Earnest Womack, the long-time local pool director.
As Ben Newell looked over the crowd, seeing the smiles and hearing all the laughter and conversation, he knew the last two weeks had made a difference.
"This is when you really realize the impact [the All Church Challenge] has," he said.
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