We loved partnering with Healing Place Church for SERVOLUTION during the two weeks leading up to Easter. I thought you might like to see what we, as a church, accomplished together. So I asked our Impact Director, Jenny Huang, to write a little recap. Here it is — enjoy!
SERVOLUTION story – Sharing the Love of Jesus Through Kindness
Sharon Frazier and her family have witnessed their fair share of violence. For fourteen years as residents in a Northwest Jacksonville neighborhood, the Fraziers have regularly seen or heard gunshots from rival gangs, murders, robberies, and drug deals in the area. Perched at the intersection of two streets across from Eugene Butler Middle School, the Frazier home often witnesses young students involved or hurt in the violence. On Saturday, April 11th, violence was replaced by kindness.
A team of more than 100 volunteers from Celebration Church in partnership with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spent the Saturday morning painting and repairing the Frazier home, along with three other neighborhood houses. The outreach team also painted over graffiti in the area and picked up trash along the streets. The outreach and beautification effort renewed hope for Sharon Frazier and the Eugene Butler community.
“It takes a good-hearted person to volunteer their time, even on a Saturday, to come help someone else,” Frazier said. “It’s a blessing.”
Frazier was one of many who experienced the love of Jesus during SERVOLUTION, a weeklong campaign April 3-11, leading up to Easter weekend. Spearheaded by Healing Place Church, SERVOLUTION called on churches from around the world to initiate a radical change of a person’s life through simple acts of kindness and generosity.
Celebration teams from across all campuses and ministries joined in by serving in areas throughout Northeast Florida. Outreaches included a Special Needs Easter Egg Hunt, Jax Beach Homeless outreach, and various other activities serving women in crisis, homeless, and at-risk youth. Celebration Kids and middle school students also joined in by collecting hygiene pack items and socks/underwear for the homeless. It was amazing to see the church rally to share the love of Jesus to those in need!
A big thank you to all the volunteers and teams for serving! For more info and the full story of the impact of SERVOLUTION, visit www.celebration.org.
The impact of SERVOLUTION will continue beyond the campaign week – we have regular and new outreach teams who are serving the homeless at Jax Beach, nursing homes, at-risk youth organizations, and the Eugene Butler community. To join in local impact opportunities, visit http://impact.celebration.org. Come be a part of the revolution through serving!
It was such a blessing to be able to be a part of one of the Outreaches. My family helped in one of the groups at Eugene Butler. You could see the families sit in Awe as we worked as a team to get the jobs done. I felt the impact we had there in that area and hope to be able to serve with more Outreaches that Celebration is a part of. I love being a part of a church that just goes in no matter what the challenge, roles up their sleeves and gets the job done… Blessings Shellie McCary