What do 30 elementary-age children in northern Greenville County have to do with a rural village in Asia?
A family in a rural Asian village draws drinking water from a well funded through the efforts of the children’s department at Locust Hill Church, Travelers Rest.The answer lies in their taking to heart the challenge of Acts 1:8, the 2011 theme verse for Locust Hill Church, Travelers Rest.
The church has been seeking creative ways to share the gospel with its community and the nations. Several members have gone on mission trips, and a food pantry and community garden have been started.
The children’s ministry also caught the missions vision, and children’s minister Katina Riley and workers Ann Vaughn and Billy and Angie Watson created a unique approach to teach children about missions. Billy wrote a curriculum based on the parable of the Good Samaritan, called “Neighbor to Neighbor Missions.” The name comes from the WMU theme for Children’s Ministry Day. The leaders took the concept and expanded it to make a series of lessons and missions projects. On Sunday nights, while the adults and youth were in homes for small group discipleship studies, the children not only learned about missions and ministry, but also practiced it.
One of the more creative projects they undertook involved partnering with fellow South Carolinians Albert and June (last names withheld for security reasons), serving with the International Mission Board in Asia. Albert and June are from Hartsville, and served with Locust Hill pastor Bill Pfister and his family one summer while the Pfisters were with the IMB in Argentina.
Children at Locust Hill Church work on their “Neighbor to Neighbor Missions” curriculum, which was written by church member Billy Watson.Albert and June spoke at Locust Hill recently, telling the church about how, in many Hindu and Muslim countries, placing one’s faith in Christ often means being cut off from water supplies. They shared about a well-digging ministry that not only allows Christians access to fresh water, but also gives them opportunities to share “living water,” often with the very people who have persecuted them.
The children challenged the church to fill plastic water bottles with loose change in order to raise the $1,200 necessary to dig a well. In a few weeks time, church members returned water bottles filled with $1,400 in change.
The 30 students and their leaders led the church to impact a rural village in Asia, meeting physical and spiritual needs. Hopefully the whole church is growing to have a missions heart.