One of the core values of Lincoln County is that of service and it is demonstrated on a daily basis by our many local churches. “Disciple Now” is a multi-church program that teaches youth the importance of community service, empathy, support and kindness.
This past weekend, J Bar J Church, Gateway Christian Church and First Baptist Church of Ruidoso joined together to host their third annual “Disciple Now” weekend. The project is a weekend-long event, usually hosted over spring break, that is aimed toward giving youth perspective by providing hosted Bible studies, discussion groups and community service hours. This year, the event saw the participation of over 100 students.
After spending Friday evening in groups hosted by volunteers around the community, the youth attended Bible studies early on Saturday morning, where they discussed the importance of helping and caring for others. Many of the group leaders are students who traveled to Ruidoso from Abilene Christian University. The leaders used the time to spread a message centered on this year’s theme: Love Revolution, in reference to showing God’s love to others through kind actions and kind words.
“The goal of the project is to lead our youth to showing love for others by taking on community service projects and teaching them the value of helping others,” said Waynette Walker, past charter board member of Help End Abuse for Life (HEAL) and secretary at J Bar J Church.
As one of the many recipients of the service, the Nest welcomed a group of visiting youth volunteers that spent a portion of the cold, overcast afternoon trimming and pruning brush, picking up trash and doing spring cleaning in the shelter’s family courtyard. Though J Bar J Church contributes a monetary donation to HEAL and the Nest every month, the “Disciple Now” groups wanted the shelter to receive extra attention.
Walker said, “We thought it would be nice if the students could do something a little more direct, too, in addition to those donations. We wanted to be able to show the women who are staying at the Nest that the students and community care about them.”
Other groups spread out to clean up the homes and properties of elder members of our community. The tasks varied from raking up pine needles to washing windows. Several participants also took the time to travel to the Ladera and Camelot low-income apartment complexes to host Bible studies, meet with residents and distribute donated clothing for resident’s children. After finishing the service projects, the groups returned to their host homes for study, discussion sessions and to prepare for a dinner with all of their families in which they would share what they had learned during their service.
HEAL would like to thank J Bar J Church, Gateway Christian Church and First Baptist Church of Ruidoso for providing the opportunity and development for our youth. In organizing this event, they have taken a big step toward shaping the future of our community and of our children, keeping the message of kindness and giving alive, while embracing our community with love.
Pictured are the youth from “Disciple Now” in Ruidoso.
