The North Greenville University Baptist Campus Ministry sends out 16 community teams and 13 weekend teams that each find different ways to witness to a variety of people around South Carolina.
One team in particular has had a great run with its project, the Palmetto Boys Home. The team goes out every Monday night and focuses on Christian fundamentals such as salvation and growth. The Palmetto Boys Home is a branch of Miracle Hill and is short-term emergency housing during custody battles and court cases. Many of these kids have been in danger and are victims of neglect, abuse and many other troubled backgrounds.
The team tries to form a relationship with the kids, but it can become difficult because many of the kids are not in the home longer than a few weeks. They play games with the kids, such as football and basketball, and sometimes show movies like The Passion or other movies with a Christian viewpoint, and lead small Bible studies and devotionals.
The team consists of Chris Moore, from Swansea, a member of Sardis Baptist Church; Nicholas Thomason, from Anderson, a member of Forest Hill Baptist Church; Joshua Taylor, from Taylors, a member of East North Street Baptist Church; and team leader Brandon Amick, from Fountain Inn, a member of Beulah Baptist Church.
“As a youth ministry major, it has been hard for me to adjust to the Palmetto Boys Home because there are constantly new kids coming and going, so the salvation message and the ‘fundamentals’ have to be reviewed constantly,” said Amick.
“Still, the team has seen four kids come to know Christ as their Savior. Sometimes these kids can seem a little hostile due to their background, and it seems like they just shut you out a lot of the time. So to see the decisions we have is just amazing; God never ceases to amaze me.”