Pathway Community Church Launches Community Ministry

This past fall I spent working with Pastor Tony Brown to educate the congregation on what we are doing in the community and how it fits in with God’s plan to transform communities. We had one major project, which was to help a neighbor to finish his shed. This was in the Elm Street Trailer Park. The gentleman was unable to do the work due to injuries, and was being threatened with eviction. Four people attending Pathway Community Church were involved, as well as the young man’s step-father. Two of the men from the congregation also live in the neighborhood. Joe Robles and his family live next to Bryan Hetherman, who is the gentleman that needed the help. Some time later the church  held a prayer walk in the neighborhood and we met a few more of our neighbors. I was also involved in helping another woman from the congregation build a shelter for her horses.

Pastor Tony and I will continue the education of the congregation. One of the projects that I want to finish before the month of January is up is to interview a couple of the people in the church that live in the trailer park. I intend to ask the basic initial survey questions starting with what they like about the trailer park. After doing the interviews, which I will be recording, I will edit them and we will play the video for the whole congregation to see. We would also like to hold a prayer tour so that people will at least be able to see the neighborhoods we will be working in and pray for their neighbors. We also have two people in the congregation who need help to make it through the winter. One gentleman needs a shed built so that he can supplement his income by raising dogs, and another gentleman needs help winterizing his house.

The biggest challenges we are facing right now is to get people educated enough in Asset Based Community Development so that we can expand beyond doing individual projects in response to needs and help build community among our neighbors.



By Ted Bessey
Community Development Team Coordinator