From Doubt to Belief

Jack didn’t think much of church people.  In fact, he didn’t have much to do with them at all.  His wife Cat used to go to church but somewhere along the way had stopped going.  Yet Jack watched as the groups of volunteers helped his neighbors in Kopperston, and he became impressed.  It seemed that the presence of WVMAW was good for the community.  People had hope that they could get needed help.  He saw that these “church people” weren’t just a bunch of Sunday people — they put their faith in action!  And so he and Cat began to talk with folks and get to know them.  Then they began to take them good ol’ West Virginia beans and cornbread, or desserts or treats.  Their hospitality made the groups feel so welcome, and they began to build a relationship with the mission teams.

Jack needed his roof repaired, and volunteers came to help.  He was amazed that this outpouring of help was so genuine.  Cat was convinced that this was her call to go back to her church — a sense of gratitude for what God was doing in their lives.  Jack? Probably not much of a church go-er.  But then Jack has seen first-hand what God’s grace looks like perhaps in ways he would not see if God were confined to a building.  That grace is a gift no less to Jack than to any of us.

Jesus calls us to plant the seeds.  No more.  It is up to God to make them grow.   So we continue to bring the Kingdom to the hills and hollers and all of God’s people in West Virginia.

Volunteer in West Virginia

This report was submitted by Joan Stewart, executive director of West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy & Workcamps (WVMAW), as part of the December 2008 WVMAW quarterly report.  Read reports from the WVMAW ministry.