The immediate goals of the North American Mission Board’s World Changers are to rehabilitate substandard homes and improve neighborhoods in 87 cities this summer.
World Changer Candace Fowler of Ringgold, Ga., sweeps shingles before a metal roof is installed on a home in central Florida.The ultimate goals are to transform the lives of students and win people to Christ.
Now in its 17th summer of service projects, the 2006 edition of World Changers is in full swing, with 22,000 youth volunteers committed to 92 projects across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, according to John Bailey, World Changers’ coordinator for NAMB.
Created in 1990, World Changers is a prepackaged mission experience sponsored by NAMB, enabling students – middle school-aged to college-aged – to donate part of their summer to rehabilitate substandard housing.
At the same time the students are spending a precious week of their summer vacation hammering nails, painting walls or re-roofing houses, they’re also developing their mission skills, growing in their faith and sharing the gospel, Bailey said.
2006 World Changers efforts also include 16 non-construction community projects across the country, including Bible clubs for local kids, surveys for local churches, food and clothing programs for the needy, and sports and handicapped ministries.
“The reason World Changers has been so successful over 17 years – and the reason God has blessed it – is because we have been laser-focused on trying to transform the lives of students,” Bailey said. “This is the only way to change the world – to challenge the kids to go beyond their comfort zones, cross barriers and make a difference.
“Whether it’s using a paint brush or teaching children the Bible, they are out in 87 communities, sharing their faith and making a difference. When you mobilize people, give them a big vision and turn them loose, they always rise to the occasion.”
“Hundreds of people will come to know Christ because of this effort.”
The rehab and construction projects generally last seven days. All student volunteers pay a fee to cover meals and lodging. Once the students arrive at their assigned location, a designated crew chief – some professional builders, others merely “weekend” carpenters – supervises their intense week of work.
Derek Blakenship of Wetumpka, Ala., scrapes paint chips off the side of a hurricane-damaged home in central Florida. A member of Calvary Baptist Church, Wetumpka, he is one of more than 20,000 volunteers nationwide participating in World Changers.“We couldn’t do World Changers without the 1,200 men and women from all over the country who volunteer as crew chiefs to oversee and train the young people,” Bailey said. “They are some very talented and solid folks.”
“Since we kicked off earlier this month, we’re getting some good early reports from the projects in Alaska, Puerto Rico and Canada,” he said. “We’ve also got several new cities participating this year, such as Little Rock, Ark., Tulsa, Okla., Buffalo, N.Y., and Gallup, N.M.”
While most World Changer projects around the country require only 250-300 young people, a larger World Changer initiative – called an “XL Project” – is coming up in Norfolk, Va., where more than 900 youths will work on local construction or community projects.
“In Virginia, these 900 kids will be working all over the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake areas,” Bailey said, “with a goal of completing 80-90 home rehabs.”