KELLER, Va. — Hollies Baptist Church on Virginia’s Eastern Shore recently added a 4,000-square foot ministry center to its facility which the church hopes will serve as a “home away from home” for those coming to the Shore to serve the community.
There were times during its construction when the site looked like an Amish barn-raising, said Pastor Joe McKnight, as volunteers and mission teams pitched in to complete the structure.
“We have a mission to see that everyone in the area has a home that is warm, safe and dry,” said McKnight.
Construction on the ministry center at Hollies Baptist Church resembled an Amish barn-raising as volunteers pitched in to frame the building.
|
The congregation partners with Keller’s town council to assist residents with special needs — many of which are construction and home repairs for low-income families.
“The town of Keller has always seen hard times, but the economy really took a downturn when the railroad left,” said McKnight. Many homes are in disrepair and factors such as substandard wiring make it difficult for low-income households to obtain insurance to cover damage due to fire or natural disaster.
Last fall Hurricane Sandy left many homes damaged. McKnight said the storm left over five feet of water in his yard and it took him nine months to burn all of the debris that washed up.
“Thankfully my house was up high, but many people had it much worse,” he said.
“The council maintains what we refer to as a ‘honey-do-list’ and with their guidance we try to work our way down the list providing ministry to those in need,” McKnight said. The vision for the new ministry center is to provide a place to stay for volunteers who travel to the Shore to partner with Hollies on these projects, as well as house its after-school program and hunger ministries.
“We needed a large place where volunteers could sleep, cook their meals and be comfortable once their work and the Lord’s work were done each day,” said McKnight. “We were seeing folks coming here and using a large part of their budget on hotel rooms, food, gas and tolls to travel back and forth on the [Chesapeake Bay] bridge.”
Volunteers from Atlantic and Kings Grant Baptist churches cut 2x4s for the ministry center.
|
Last November Hollies began a capital campaign to raise $400,000 for the ministry center. It was anticipated that construction would be done in three phases, as money became available. Groundbreaking took place on April 21 when over $120,000 had been raised.
Construction began in early summer. Shortly after work had begun, McKnight received a call from Billy Reed of King’s Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.
“He told me that he had a group of volunteers from King’s Grant that were planning to go to Memphis, Tennessee, to build a church, when, at the last minute, the building permit fell through,” said McKnight. “He said the trucks were loaded and the equipment was ready and asked if I could help him by letting the group come to work at Hollies instead — and I graciously accepted his offer. The team arrived on Monday and in the blazing heat of July took the center from a concrete pad to a structure with walls.
“We began to see a lot of folks latch on to our vision,” he added. Other volunteer groups joined church members and local residents. Atlantic Baptist Church, an Eastern Shore congregation, regularly sent members to lend a hand. Northside Christian Church from Virginia Beach brought a team of nine to work on the addition and also repair local homes during the summer. Volunteers from Great Bridge Baptist Church in Virginia Beach built the kitchen cabinets.
“We have had volunteers coming each day from across the Bay who not only were taking vacation from their jobs, but they were spending their own money for gas and tolls to work on a roof in 95-degree heat. That’s dedication,” said David Shaw, a Hollies member and building contractor who lead the construction.
“We knew that we couldn’t do it all by ourselves. God provided us with friends — many Baptist friends — and construction has progressed quickly,” said McKnight. He said support from the business community has been a blessing. “I don’t want to single out any company by name, but so many have not only given us huge discounts but then made a contribution to the building fund.”
The new ministry center includes a large kitchen, showers and ample space for large groups of volunteers to sleep. In addition to housing, the facility includes hookups for recreational vehicles.
“Our church can now be a command post or place for community-wide ministry during disaster relief efforts,” said McKnight.
“My favorite place in the new center is a large porch like you’ll find at Cracker Barrel — with the paddle ceiling fans, rocking chairs and checkerboards,” said the pastor. “Groups can enjoy a cold glass of sweet ice tea in the summer or hot cocoa in the winter, while taking a break from technology for some real conversation and communication.”
Hollies received a $6,750 grant from the Bridge Network of Churches, a fellowship of Baptist churches encompassing the metropolitan Norfolk area and the Eastern Shore, to purchase a rebuild trailer to be transported from site to site and enhance the rebuild and rehab ministry, said McKnight. Nearly $10,000 in construction equipment and tools were donated to outfit the trailer by a contractor and local businesses that are grateful for the church’s housing ministry to the community.
The center will also house an after-school ministry for Pungoteague Elementary School, one of the largest elementary schools on the Eastern Shore. The church assists the school with a brown bag ministry providing food for children and it hosts a teacher appreciation breakfast. The congregation also plans to expand a gleaning ministry that will enable them to continue serving the working poor.
“There are so many stories about the ways we’ve seen the Lord working,” said McKnight. A team from Melrose Baptist Church in Roanoke adopted the home of an 80-year-old woman and “literally gave her house an extreme makeover,” he said.
She has since made a profession of faith and received leadership training to work with the after-school ministry. “It all came from partnership missions. Melrose Baptist Church helped her and now she’s investing her life back in the kingdom working with kids.”
McKnight anticipates that Hollies Baptist Church will hold a dedication service for its ministry center in November — one year from the beginning of the fund drive. And with the abundance of support from churches and the community, it will likely cost half of what was originally projected.
“There is hope in Jesus Christ whether you live in a shack or a castle, and when your heart is set on Christ, you can be a refugee and have joy,” said McKnight. “The good news is that people here have needs and we have the unlimited resources and power and grace of Jesus who gives people hope.”
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is on the staff of the Religious Herald.