The Church of God Care Campus in Sevierville, Tennessee, which includes the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) and Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center (WMC) look forward to the blessing of having work groups visit the campus during the summer months. One of the groups is from Pennsylvania. Pastor Jeff Hathaway, Greene Valley Church of God, and Pastor Adam Kidwell from the Claysburg Church of God join forces to make an incredible team of workers to include adults and their youth. This year, they had twenty-two (22) people who participated.
[1]Greene Valley Church of God group (click on photo to enlarge)
Pastor Jeff shared, “Many of the teens have summer jobs but in anticipation of this week they take vacation time to come work. Our four children have grown up traveling with us for this work week as we have been coming down here for the past fifteen (15) years now.” Pastor Jeff went on to say, “This team loves to come and get major projects started so that another group can come in and do the finishing work. The young people are always excited about coming and are very dedicated when they get here to stay focused on whatever the project may be.”
Pastor Hathaway and his youth group presented a check to the Home for $500. The church raised the funds by collecting the loose change that was put into the offering plates the past year. They were so excited when they counted it and realized how much they had raised for the Home. The group wanted a true “home missions” experience and so asked to sleep in the gym and have as much time possible to dedicate to their work projects. Our maintenance supervisor, Rev. John Conley commented, “This group keeps me busy and is always willing to help with whatever projects I asked them to do.” They were asked to clean personal balconies for the widows, tear up carpet in one of the cottages in preparation for some remodeling; and build walls in the school. Another highlight was the opportunity for the drama team to share during the Widow’s Ministry Center Thursday morning chapel service.
Dan Boling, Care Campus director, stated his appreciation for Pastor Hathaway’s willingness to come spend a week on the Care Campus with the idea in mind, “We Have Come to Work.”