By Christine Powell Kellett
Associate Pastor with Children and Families
Augusta Heights Baptist Church
Greenville, SC
Since March, when COVID 19 hit our churches, communities, and nation the hardest, the wonderful people at Augusta Heights Baptist Church in Greenville have not missed a beat when it comes to serving and ministering to its people and community.
A number of different ministries that were already in place before the pandemic hit just had to shift gears as far as how they followed through on their commitments.
For example, AHBC’s quilting ministry, Peace by Piece, continues to make quilts, blankets, and other necessities for local organizations that work with under resourced and under privileged women and children.
The homebound ministry has continued to love and support their members at home by providing meals to those who do not feel safe shopping for groceries.
And the ministerial staff made sure that the entire church body felt loved and supported by placing “AHBC loves you” signs in everyone’s front yard.
Porch drop offs for families
Augusta Heights continues to stay engaged with and supportive of the families of the church. A number of resources have been dropped on porches for families to use at home.
Some of these resources include Holy Week Boxes, Summer Bucket activities, Back to School boxes, and a Travel Worship Resources.
The hope is that as families have more time together at home, they will use these resources to help foster spiritual formation and education even during this time away from the church building.
Movie Night on the Lawn
As AHBC begins to slowly reopen and meet again in a socially-distanced manner, the church gathered for their First Annual Movie Night on the Lawn where children dressed in costume, families gathered for a socially distanced picnic, and everyone enjoyed treats as they watched a movie on a chilly fall evening.
Many more of these gatherings are being planned, as well as other opportunities to serve the community as the holidays approach. Some of these opportunities include Thanksgiving Boxes for under resourced families through a local elementary school, and Advent Boxes filled with resources and activities for families as we enter the Advent season.