A Church that Serves (Part 1)

I have been working very hard, trying to launch this new church. It has taken a so much time, energy, and money that it is a wonder we have made it this far. With less than a month to go before we official launch, I am taking some moments to reflect on how far we have come.

Recently, I have written about a shift I have made in the way I see the church and my role as a pastor (that word still sounds strange to me, by the way). I wanted to start a church that serves the community in which it’s located. Our first responsibility is to share the good news about Jesus with people. But it’s hard for people to hear you when their immediate needs are screaming at them. We earn the right to speak to others about God when we first display the love of God. Service is a major way we can to do that! For the record, we don’t serve to earn God’s love. We serve because we are loved.

One of my favorite scriptures is, “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in the heavens.” Matthew 5:16 The reality is that people will not glorify our Father in heaven until they see the good works we do. I simply want to lead a church where our proclamation is proven by our compassion. I am honored, that God chose me to do so.

Before Vertical Church has officially launched:

• We hosted a campus cleanup on 9/11 (National Day of Service) at Morris Brown College, a college recovering from the loss of their accreditation years ago.

• We have adopted N. Metro GNETS, an under-resourced K-12 school in the West End to meet the needs of its students and staff. This school serves students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and is in desperate need of support (i.e. library resources, equipment and student mentors).

• We supported a college student teaching conversational English in China through a 6-week teaching missions program.

• We provided a gift basket for the GNETS staff after a week of intense monitoring & observation from the state department of education.

• We worked with a local Barnes & Noble to host a fundraiser for the GNETS book drive.

• We gave out over 45 college care packages with food, drinks and devotionals to college students. One student’s response – “You gave us real stuff.”

• We have also adopted a single parent family from the Vine City community for Thanksgiving and Christmas and provided much needed food, clothing and household items.

• We provided hats and gloves to children in the community by supporting the Keeping Kids Warm Project.

• A total of over 120 hours of community service have been logged.

I love being apart of a church that serves. In order to continue impacting the West End and Vine City area filled with college students we need prayer and support.

http://www.verticalatl.com/giving/

http://www.damianlboyd.com/support/