By Kris Eldridge
This past weekend, more than 1,000 volunteers from 10 churches united to serve over 40 schools throughout the Louisville community. It was the ninth year for the School Blitz, organized annually by Northeast Christian Church—known as the Love the ’Ville church—but this year nine other churches joined in the effort.
Volunteers from some churches spread mulch, trimmed trees, pulled weeds, and spruced up school grounds. Others made teacher gift bags or refurbished teacher lounges. Some painted doors and striped parking lot spaces. One church held their worship service in the school parking lot and then served the needs of their school.
Although each church served their respective schools in diverse ways, there were shared goals.
First, churches desired to love their neighbor by serving the schools, no strings attached.
Said one middle school principal, “[I] couldn’t believe a church would do this for us, for several years in a row, with no agenda and no strings attached.” An elementary school principal commented, “[I am] so thankful that a church would help my school be safe and clean, so that my kids can have a home away from home.”
A second goal was for church unity as described in John 17, where Jesus prayed that all his followers would be one, so that the world would know that the Father sent him. Achieving this goal was perhaps the biggest win of this collaborative outreach—that area churches came together and worked as one, representing and reflecting Jesus to the community in a palpable way.
“It is critical that churches work together,” a volunteer said. “We must do a better job of sharing Jesus with people, and we can do that, partially, through how we unite. We are living in a time when everything is divided in our culture, and that’s what we are called to do as Christians—to live in unity and unison with one another.”
Kris Eldridge serves as local outreach pastor at Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, Ky.
This is a beautiful way to show our communities what the Church looks like!!!