Saturday morning at Grace Fellowship Baptist was a fun and unique time of work and fellowship!

Grace Fellowship is located at GSRI Road and Gardere Lane, nearly across the street from where we will hold the May 2nd outreach described in last month’s Connections Update. Eric Sanders, the new pastor of the church standing in the back of the picture with a white sweat band on his head, is allowing us to use the building behind us to store clothes, furniture, etc that will be donated for the Garage Giveaway.

In order to store things in that building and another behind it, we first had to clear them out. About 15 men (not everyone is pictured) did that job Saturday morning. We filled up a 40’ dumpster will all that had accumulated over the years. We also repaired the outside of the building to make it more secure.

We came from different churches around town and most of us did not know each other before Saturday. We came together with a common mission of wanting to touch people in the Gardere area with the love of Christ that has changed our lives. It was so much fun building friendships with these guys!

The Lord is continuing to move His people to action to reach out to people in the Gardere area. He is also providing things that are needed, such as a great place to store the things we will give away on May 2nd. Everyone involved is so encouraged to see what God is doing and we are excited to be a part of it!

If you want to donate clothing, furniture, or appliances that would normally go in a garage sale, please let me know. If you would like to volunteer to haul donated items to Grace Fellowship or if you want to volunteer in some other way, please let me know that.

Please pray that the Lord will use this outreach as a catalyst for on-going ministry in the lives of many people who live in the Gardere neighborhood. He is already using it in the lives of those who are serving!

Thanks for your prayers!

Clayton Hays

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Last fall I began to promote the Gardere outreach ministry of Living Word Church and Charity Christian Center. As the word got out about their ministry, a group of folks surfaced who wanted to help with ministry in that area of town. What has developed over the last few months is really exciting!

A team of about 20 people are now serving in support of three African American churches and one Hispanic church that are in the Gardere neighborhood. The team is made up of black, white, and Hispanic believers from eleven d (more…)

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This past Saturday is a day I will remember for a long time! It was amazing to see 225 motivated volunteers unleashed on 7 service projects in New Orleans for a day!

They painted huge amounts of three high schools, landscaped high schools, built houses, painted houses, hung sheetrock, helped at a halfway house, and tutored kids in English and math. How did all this come about?

Clint Ivey, a friend here in Baton Rouge, works with Herff Jones providing graduation supplies to schools. Last February Clint asked me to help him organize a day of service on Saturday January 17th in New Orleans for people who would attend the Herff Jones national sales convention that weekend.

About 400 people would attend and everyone was invited to arrive a day early and to serve somewhere. Clint focused on organizing the teams and I set up the opportunities to serve. The Herff Jones leadership was willing to pay for charter buses to take volunteers to service venues and to feed them Friday evening and Saturday.

About 225 people volunteered and they showed up ready to serve. We had three teams of about 50 people at three high schools to paint and do landscaping. (You won’t believe how much of a school 50 people can paint between 8 AM and 3 PM.) We had a team of 36 at a charter school to tutor students and help the librarian organize the library.

A team of 20 hung drywall for a lady named Brenda who is still trying to get her house livable after the flood waters of Katrina. A team of 13 worked with Habitat for Humanity to build and paint houses and a team of 6 served at a halfway house. It was amazing to see how much these 225 people accomplished in a day as I traveled around to the sites where they worked on Saturday.

These volunteers were such an encouragement to those they served and they were a wonderful example to everyone who saw what they were doing to serve others.

One high school principal asked if the team serving at his school could build a pond right in front of the school. Several of us thought that would be too much and that it would be better to let the volunteers just paint and pick up trash. When the 50 people on the team got to the high school Saturday morning, the principal mentioned the idea of a pond. A man who works with Herff Jones in California said ponds were his specialty and took over. He made a team of about 10 people, took up a collection of $1,800 from the 50 people on the team, went to Lowe’s. He bought decorative rocks, plants, and even lights to go under the water. When the principal saw it at the end of the day, he was blown away. That is the type of people who served Saturday!

There are more great stories that could be told, but I will stop here. It was a very meaningful day for those who were able to participate. One man who has been very successful with the company for over 30 years said Saturday was the best day he has ever had with Herff Jones.

One of the most amazing things to me was that as I thanked people from all over the country for serving, they almost always said, “Oh no, thank you for letting us be a part of this!” I saw Jesus’ words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” in action before my eyes!

I will remember Saturday January 17th for a long time! The more I think about it, I find myself saying, “Thank you Clint Ivey for letting me be a part of this!”

What a blessing!

Clayton Hays

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As you may know, Pastor James Drumgole and Living Word Church, has been reaching out to people who live in the Gardere Lane area. Earlier this month a friend named Kyle Schwab came up with the idea of gathering Christmas gifts for children who live in the Gardere area. I contacted Pastor Drumgole and asked him what he thought of the idea. He was thrilled to have his church be the vehicle for delivering gifts to children there.

Kyle gathered gifts and I contacted a few friends to see if they would invite folks in their office to donate gifts for kids. Frank Manale, pictured above with his wife Jerri and Pastor Drumgole, invited people in his company to participate. (The picture was taken Friday when James and I picked up gifts at Frank’s office.) Kevin Kearney’s staff also donated gifts. Sally Koch collected food donations from her women’s prayer group and donated Bibles.

Sunday afternoon Pastor Drumgole and a few church members delivered food, Bibles, and gifts for 24 children in the Gardere area. Here is what he wrote in an email to me earlier today:

Just wanted to tell you and everyone else that prayed, donated, or assisted in any way, that the gifts and food were delivered to the Gardere residents between 1 and 2:20 PM on Sunday, December 21. The children and adults were overwhelmed with joy. We had sent information stating that we would deliver the gifts between 1 and 4 PM on Sunday. When we arrived at each apartment with the gifts, with the exception of one, the kids were already outside waiting/expecting.

It is so rewarding to be a part of spreading joy during this season of giving. The parents/guardians say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

What a blessing! Please pray that the love of the Lord will touch many in the Gardere area this coming year!

Merry Christmas!

Clayton

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Pastor James Drumgole, pictured below, is a man with a big heart people! He is the Pastor of Living Word Church, which is located on Nicholson Dr. north of the LSU campus. That summer he paid for two African American high school boys to go to a Young Life camp so they could receive some much needed encouragement and direction in their lives.

We are so excited to announce that this month, Living Word Church is partnering with Charity Christian Center, pastored by Don Bradford, to reach out to people living in the Gardere/GSRI Road area! On October 29-31 these two churches will hold a three day outreach called Harvest Fest 2008. Along with this three day effort these two churches will be continue to serve the people of this neighborhood.

As you probably know, the people who live in the Gardere/GSRI Rd area, are in much need of caring Christian ministry. How great is it that the Lord is motivating these two churches to work together and with other believers to serve people there and to share the Gospel with them!

Harvest Fest 2008 will include games and candy for kids, food served, and outreach services during the three evenings. To find out more about how to pray and how to volunteer, please call Dana, the church secretary at Living Word Church. The church phone number is 387-6228.

With much thanksgiving for what God is doing!

Clayton Hays

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When Christians show up to serve in the name of Jesus Christ, He is honored and people are attracted to Him. Let me tell you about a nice way this is happening in Baton Rouge:

Last year, Devera Goss began to volunteer at Lee High School in Baton Rouge, a place in much need of some helpful volunteers! She did things like plant flowers and take snacks to the teachers’ lounge, and she enlisted a few other folks to do the same.

The buildings at Lee are pretty old to start with, and this summer, someone put some mean graffiti on some of them. The principal let Devera know that he needed help getting the buildings power washed. She called me, and we put our heads together thinking of people who might want to volunteer.

The Lord provided! I called Wayne Gowdy, because he has a pressure washing business. The Lord had been putting it on his heart to volunteer his services, and he was happy to get involved. So on August 2nd, Wayne led the charge and worked with Devera and her husband Jerry, who are pictured above with Wayne. Jenny Seals, Mike Ruppert, and Sheldon Bivin pitched in, and they cleaned Lee’s buildings.

The principal was so thankful for their work, which helped the appearance of the school and will help the staff, faculty, and students have a more positive attitude about being there.

He and some of the other staff and faculty know that the folks who worked so hard on that Saturday are Christians and that they are involved at The Chapel. One teacher told Devera that she had not found a church home since she moved to Baton Rouge, and said she would like to go to The Chapel one Sunday to see what it was like.

What a great way for the goodness of the Lord to flow through His people to touch others!

Other volunteer opportunities at Lee, such as tutoring American and international students, are available. If you want to volunteer at Lee, or if you want to find out about other volunteer opportunities in Baton Rouge or New Orleans, please let me know by contacting me through Connections.

Thanks!

Clayton

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Last week I sent a Connections Update email requesting donations of lawn equipment for a new outreach ministry by Franklin Ave Baptist in New Orleans.

Thirteen pieces of equipment were donated (pictured above). Monday and Tuesday Sheldon Bivin, a retired friend who loves to serve, worked with me to get everything operational.

Yesterday, I used one of The Chapel’s vehicles and a trailer to deliver the equipment to Franklin Ave Baptist. The second picture is of Gary Mack, the pastor who leads outreach efforts, and me standing beside the trailer they just bought for this outreach ministry. The funds for the trailer came from Trinity Bible Church in Lafayette.

Isn’t it great to see the Body of Christ working together to touch people with the love of Christ!

Isn’t it great to think that the Lord is moving His body in many ways like this every day because of His love!

One other thing. Please pray for the Returning Hearts Celebration outreach this Saturday at Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel. About 125 children are signed up to join their fathers for a day of fun and ministry!

Thanks for praying!

Clayton Hays

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Early Saturday morning Madeline Shepherd, Bob Downing, Howard Tull, and I drove up to Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport near Bunkie. We participated in a Returning Hearts Celebration with about 50 other volunteers. (more…)