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| Walnut Creek South hosted a free barbeque, games, and outdoor movie on Memorial Day. |
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| Bubble Ball was a popular activity at the Memorial Day barbeque. |
Memorial Day Barbecue on the Southside
Walnut Creek South Volunteers Host Barbecue For The Door of Faith
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| Walnut Creek South served a meal to the men of the Door of Faith recovery shelter during Mission to the City. |
This the third year Walnut Creek has served a meal during Mission to the City for the Door of Faith, and it is becoming one of the premier events for the men in the recovery program. Staff from the Door of Faith and Hope Ministries corporate office attended the event as well.
“The advice most often given to these guys is to find a church and get involved. Then, watch how God works in your life," Mike Scott said, who is a graduate of the program and a member of Walnut Creek South. "This event, more than anything they are involved in during the year, shows them both what it looks like to get involved in the church and the benefits of it.”
After serving the meal, the volunteers plate up and sit down with the residents to talk about life and walking with Jesus.
"It is a comfortable surrounding, and the guys really appreciated the meal and hanging out after. It’s a great example of Christ's body working together and sharing the Gospel through interaction," said John Teeter of Walnut Creek South.
Downtown Teams Breakfast Drop Throughout the East Village and Skywalks
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| Teams provided free breakfast throughout the downtown skywalks and the East Village. |
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| Walnut Creek Downtown teams kicked off Mission to the City with breakfast drops on early Friday morning. |
Windsor Heights Teams Deliver Meals to Local Schools
The kitchen was busy all Friday morning with chopping, baking, and mixing as Mission to the City groups from Windsor Heights prepared meals for various organizations throughout the city.
One Community Group brought a meal to the teachers and staff at Harding Middle School as a way to thank the teachers for their hard work. Their Community Group works closely with many Harding students through Youth For Christ, a ministry for middle school and high school youth. Another Community Group prepared a meal for Des Moines Christian School and blessed the elementary education department on their last day of the school year.
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| M2TC teams served lunches to teachers at Des Moines Christian School and Harding Middle School. |
The biggest helpers were the littlest ones of the crew. A team of moms and their kids made homemade cards and multiple meals for the Ronald McDonald House, which provides comfort and care to sick children and their families.
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| Kids got in on the Mission to the City action, too. |
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| Teams made free coffee runs to local businesses. |
Shalom Spends a Day at the Ballpark for Mission to the City
On Saturday, twenty-five people from the Shalom congregation made their way out to Johnston Little League to serve the community. A group of people put new siding on a building and another group scraped benches and gave them a fresh coat of paint. It was encouraging to see so many people take time out of their Saturday to help the community as well as seeing all ages get involved with the process of m2tc. We pray that the Des Moines area is blessed and that God is glorified through our labor!
By Melissa Holle
Walnut Creek Downtown
Pancake Brunch Raises Money for Operation Christmas Child
The smell of hot pancakes hung heavy in the air after the Sunday morning church service at Walnut Creek Downtown on May 29. The pancakes did more than fill hungry bellies after church. Part of Mission to the City for the third year in a row, the pancake brunch raised nearly $700 for Operation Christmas Child (OCC).
Since 1993, OCC – a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse – has delivered gift-filled shoeboxes to over 124 million children affected by war, poverty, natural disasters, and other crises in more than 150 countries and territories. OCC partners with local churches to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who receive shoebox gifts. A 12-lesson discipleship program, The Greatest Journey, helps boys and girls learn what it means to follow the Lord and share their faith with others.
The pancake brunch isn’t the only OCC-related Mission to the City project happening this year. Several groups went to the Urbandale home of Central Iowa OCC volunteer to pack shoebox gifts and do other volunteer work.
On July 8, Walnut Creek Church will host the sixth annual Christmas in July party, an OCC shoebox packing party for the whole family. Like last year, our goal will be to pack 2,000 shoebox gifts and raise $14,000 to cover the shipping costs. An anonymous $7,000 donation has already been pledged to the cause.
By Tim Laehn
Walnut Creek Downtown
Walnut Creek Church Volunteers Roll Up Their Sleeves for Freedom for Youth
Roots run deep for Walnut Creek Church and Freedom for Youth Ministries in more ways than one. Members served the organization by pulling up weeds, planting flowers, and trimming landscaping Saturday during Mission to the City as part of an ongoing effort to support the ministry’s staff and volunteers.
Ashlie Baldwin, Job Coach at Freedom for Youth, is also a member of Walnut Creek Downtown and joined her community group Saturday at their main location and Safe Haven, one of Freedom’s residential programs. Ashlie’s primary role consists of coaching participants ages 18-22 involved in the residential training program. While many of the participants and volunteers at Freedom take on various responsibilities, she was blessed by the opportunity for her community group to help shoulder the burden of much of the manual landscaping labor, as the participants often assist in maintaining the facilities and various job training activities.
“We only have about three young adults in our transitions program right now, but if you could imagine all that [work] being done by three young adults and then myself, all that weed-pulling, mowing, even more things that we didn’t even get done today. That would generally be done from nine to noon, so you can imagine that the work is long and it takes a long time to get done. You’ve served the staff, young adults, and many other things in the program.”
Ashlie says the relationship with Freedom and Walnut Creek has been consistent since she started about four years ago, and is thankful that every Mission to the City brings a new opportunity to strengthen the relationship.
“Walnut Creek has been really faithful to Freedom for Youth. The church has been very good about helping the young adults get connected with community groups. Walnut Creek has also been loving and accepting and stepped in, either financially or with discipleship.”
By Noelle Thompson
Walnut Creek Downtown
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