Singles ministry works to serve others
The College/Career/Singles Ministry at West Acres Baptist Church in Evans is on the lookout for ways to serve their local community.
Back
Ronnie Cooks with West Acres Baptist Church in Evans prepares a piece of wood to fit onto part of a roof at a home in the Barton Village neighborhood in south Augusta that members of the church are fixing up.
Photo by Chris Thelen
Young adults in their 20s and 30s gather together on the second Saturday of every month for what they call the "second Saturday of service."
Christel Jiles and Janelle Zmierski, members of the church group's leadership team, who contribute as service project coordinators, organize the event each month.
"God has given me a heart to serve others," Jiles said. "My interest came from some of the mission things I did while in the church's youth group."
The ministry has done several service projects in the past four months, including office work at the Augusta Care Pregnancy Center, serving food at the Garden City Rescue Mission and unloading canned and boxed goods to benefit the Golden Harvest Food Bank at the Evans Post Office. The group helped repair a south Augusta home in June. Some future projects will focus on supporting people within their home church.
Zmierski said she has two goals for the second Saturday of service.
Church member Denny Mack paints a Barton Village home. The church's College/Career/Singles Ministry, a group of young adults in their 20s and 30s, dedicates one Saturday a month to community service. Previous projects have included office work at the Augusta Care Pregnancy Center and serving food at the Garden City Rescue Mission.
Photo by Chris Thelen
"Internally, I hope to get more people from West Acres involved in serving and would like to see the group create bonds and come together as a team," she said. "Externally, we want to represent West Acres in the community and let people know we are available to serve."
Jiles has worked full time in the social services field for 5 years and uses her knowledge of the local community's needs when planning projects for the group. She hopes members of the church group will figure out their niche in service as they work with various people in diverse environments through the second Saturday of service experience.
"God gives us gifts to use, and I hope that people will realize their blessings by helping those who are less fortunate," Jiles said. "We want to give back."
Jiles and Zmierski are currently planning service projects for the coming months, which might include work at the Goshen Valley Ranch in Waleska, Ga.
For more information about future projects, contact Denny Mack, the church's minister to singles. He can be reached at denny@westacres.org or by contacting the church at 860-6573.