On a weeknight in late May, Pastor Jeff Isenhour posed a sobering question to a gathering of pastors, church leaders and community members at Arran Lake Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C.

If your church ceased to exist, would anybody even care?

“That (question) kept us up at night,” said Isenhour, who serves as Arran Lake’s co-pastor along with Andrew Clark.

When Clark joined the church’s staff a few years ago, he and Isenhour became convinced that the church needed to do more to ensure that Arran Lake’s presence was felt in the community. Since then, the church has sought to make an impact by serving the community, and they’re encouraging other churches to do the same.

“It doesn’t take much,”  Isenhour said. “A little caring, a little effort, a little serving, and God will honor it.”

Isenhour’s remarks came at a kickoff rally for area churches hosted by Arran Lake in preparation for “ServeNC,” a statewide initiative sponsored by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina which encourages N.C. Baptist churches to serve and minister to their communities in Jesus’ name through a variety of service projects during the week of Aug. 3-10.

The rally brought together churches in Cumberland County and beyond to help them connect with local civic groups and organizations to plan service projects for “ServeNC.” The rally also provided attendees with opportunities to receive training, pray over “ServeNC” and community outreach opportunities, and connect with other church and ministry leaders from the area to strengthen missional partnerships.

Clark shared that he hoped the rally — and other events like it — would serve as a moment of unity for churches focused on the mission.

“We truly are better together,” Clark said. 

As of July 29, more than 1,100 N.C. Baptist churches had signed up to participate in “ServeNC.” Churches are planning a wide variety of service and outreach projects, such as neighborhood block parties, home construction projects, yard work, ministering to public servants like teachers and first responders, tutoring, volunteering at local ministries and nonprofits, and more. 

The ways and opportunities for churches to serve are virtually endless, says Todd Unzicker, executive director-treasurer for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, who has been championing “ServeNC” for nearly a year while encouraging every N.C. Baptist church to get involved.

“Every church serving every community,” Unzicker likes to say.

“What would it look like to a lost world if there were a sea of people across the state serving in Jesus’ name?” Unzicker said. “‘ServeNC’ is an opportunity for every N.C. Baptist church to love its community in Jesus’ name by proclaiming the gospel in word and deed through service projects.”

During the “ServeNC” kickoff rally held at Arran Lake Baptist Church, a local elementary school principal shared how the church’s service at the school has paid dividends. The school — Brentwood Elementary — is located across the street from Arran Lake, and the church has supported the school for a number of years through activities like running toy and gift card drives, hosting school events, securing donations for school upgrades and more.

“[They’ve] been instrumental in fostering a true sense of community, contributing to the success of all our students and helping boost staff morale for our school,” said Casey Yates, who serves as Brentwood Elementary’s principal. 

Numerous churches across the state have caught a similar vision and have committed to serve their communities, as well. Churches and local associations are also partnering together to encourage participation.

Earlier this spring, a church and association in northeastern North Carolina agreed to commit upwards of $60,000 to help and encourage churches in the region to participate in “ServeNC.”

James Harrington, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Moyock, N.C., said his church agreed to give $1,000 to any neighboring church that needs financial assistance to complete service projects for “ServeNC,” with a total pledge of up to $60,000 for those churches.

Harrington also serves as the associational mission strategist for the Chowan Baptist Association in Hertford, N.C. When he shared his church’s plans with the association’s leadership team, the association agreed to provide additional $1,000 grants to churches in need of support up to a total of $8,000. Those funds would come from North Carolina Missions Offering allocations made to associations for local missions projects.

Through early June, Harrington said the available funds have helped at least two churches plan projects for “ServeNC.” Harrington said a church in Wilson is planning a banquet for first responders in its community, and a church in Elizabeth City is planning to distribute food packages to local college students and to economically depressed neighborhoods.

Other churches have also expressed interest in participating, Harrington said.

“My hope is that some [churches] will say, ‘Well, if they’re willing to do that, then maybe we could serve coffee or go clean up somebody’s yard,’” Harrington said. “$1,000 would go a long way for some of these churches.”

In late April, N.C. Baptist staff got a sneak preview of what “ServeNC” could look like. During a two-day staff retreat, N.C. Baptist staff members spent a day engaging in a variety of local service projects in Duplin County. Working out of the Charity Missions Center located in Rose Hill, N.C., state convention staff assembled into small teams to serve the community through projects that included construction, yard work, landscaping and more.

For many staff members, the retreat gave them an opportunity to serve and minister in new ways.

Ethan Nunn, a ministry assistant for N.C. Baptists, served on a team that painted baseboards, molding and trim which will be installed in a nearby home under construction for a family displaced by Hurricane Florence nearly six years ago.

“So the funny thing about it is I’ve actually never even painted molding or a room or anything for that matter,” Nunn said. “But as we were challenged to serve, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, learn something new and be the hands and feet of Jesus in a way I’ve never been before.”

Another team of N.C. Baptists staff spent time applying siding to the home where the baseboards that Nunn and others were painting will be installed. 

At another location, a team of N.C. Baptist staff members built a wheelchair ramp at the home of an area woman named Brenda, whose husband had recently died. After completing the ramp, staff members prayed with Brenda, who expressed gratitude for the team’s work because of mobility challenges she has when entering and leaving her home.

“You just don’t know how much I appreciate this,” Brenda said. “I was thinking I was gonna have to pay for the whole thing, and when they told me about this — oh, thank God, that’s a blessing.”

Brenda said that the ramp will be a significant help to her in her daily activities. 

“People had to kind of push me up those three steps,” Brenda said. “But now it’s gonna be wonderful. I’ll be racing.” 

Other teams took on additional projects, which included helping organize Charity’s food pantry and thrift store. The service projects were reflective of the types of efforts that will be taken on by churches during “ServeNC.”

“Think of it as a short-term mission trip to your community,” Unzicker said.

“ServeNC” service projects can include similar projects to what the N.C. Baptist staff engaged in during the retreat or something totally different. 

“When you think about ‘ServeNC,’ it doesn’t have to be anything fancy or extravagant,” said Tammy Weeks, who coordinates a variety of missions activities out of the Charity Missions Center along with her husband, Richard. “It’s just being willing to say, ‘Lord, here I am. Send me and use me.’”

Nunn said “ServeNC” provides an excellent opportunity for individuals to try new things as they serve on mission.

“Do something that is new to you, something that you’re not comfortable with, and just watch the Lord work,” Nunn said. “I think He’s gonna move in a great way.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared in the July/August issue of the Biblical Recorder magazine. For more information on “ServeNC,” visit servenc.com.)