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Churches To Tackle Good Deeds Together For CareFest

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By JEFF SCULLIN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Although serving their own congregations remains a core part of their mission, more and more pastors these days will tell you their churches can't be successful without contributing to the larger community.

With that in mind, several Pasco County congregations are organizing service projects across the county Saturday as part of a regional volunteer effort known as CareFest.

Church leaders have been identifying projects and signing up volunteers.

'The community ought to be better for the church being here,' said Jerry Hekhuis, pastor of Good News Christian Fellowship in Port Richey. 'We're sharing that vision that God has placed his people in this community to bless this community, to serve it.'

Regionally, CareFest is organized by Clearwater-based Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, a network of community organizations that assists churches with their outreach efforts. Recently, several local pastors formed Somebody Cares Pasco to tackle local projects.

The Pasco effort grew out of an informal group of pastors from about seven churches who have been meeting weekly for the past year and a half to strengthen relationships and pray 'for the transformation of Pasco County,' Hekhuis said.

Last year, that group organized the first effort in Pasco to recruit volunteers for CareFest. The group signed up nine churches and students from Trinity College - about 150 volunteers in all - for about 10 local service projects, said Hekhuis, who coordinates the local CareFest project. Among other efforts, the group painted three houses, repaired floors, refurbished a park and painted the gym at Bayonet Point Middle School, he said.

A 'Way To Show The Love Of Christ'

This year, volunteers will be heading back to Bayonet Point Middle School, painting the Port Richey city pier, refurbishing or replacing a wheelchair ramp, and doing yardwork at the West Pasco Pregnancy Center.

As many as a dozen volunteers from Solid Rock Victorious Church in Hudson are expected to paint at Bayonet Point Middle School and landscape the grounds. Church members worked at the school last year, too, and have developed a relationship with the school, said the church's pastor, Mark Esposito.

'It's a practical way to show the love of Christ for the Christian community,' he said.

Such relationships allow churches to help beyond CareFest. Somebody Cares Pasco, for example, has taken up collections for needy families and helped 15 families during the holidays last year. The group also gives away backpacks and school supplies, Hekhuis said. This year, the group gave away 800 backpacks, he said.

'These are the kinds of things that most of our congregations could never pull off by themselves,' he said.

Building ongoing community service networks is a big part of the CareFest mission, said Daniel Bernard, president of Somebody Cares Tampa Bay. The organization expects to have 2,500 people working throughout the region Saturday, with more volunteering in a few communities Sept. 29. Church members will be encouraged to perform small acts of kindness - giving out cold drinks, for example, or dropping off care packages for neighbors - during that week.

Power To Bring Churches Together

But the real power of the event is its ability to help churches build relationships with each other and the community, Bernard said.

'We're really showing the church at its best when it's coming together across racial and denominational lines ... to touch lives in a practical way,' he said. 'I think that's what most people are looking to the church to do.'

Somebody Cares Tampa Bay jump-starts local projects. It offers a how-to manual, a half-day seminar and a template for posters and T-shirts.

Beyond Saturday, the local network has smaller service projects planned during the year, Hekhuis said. It also wants to bring in speakers to talk to youths and continue reaching out to more churches, especially in the Dade City area. Most of its member churches are smaller congregations on the west side of the county.

'We'll continue to call pastors and congregational leaders together,' he said. 'As we get a sense of what the immediate community needs are that we can meet, we'll meet them.'

PITCH IN

Organizers are looking for volunteers and congregations to help with service projects - including yard work, painting, cleaning and home repair - at several Pasco County locations Saturday.

To volunteer, call Jerry Hekhuis at (727) 819-8881. For information, go to www.sctb.org.

Editor Jeff Scullin can be reached at jscullin@tampatrib.com or (813) 779-4614.

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