Several Bartlesville churches are putting their faith in action on Oct. 18 when traditional services will be cancelled in favor of providing community service.
The Big Serve event will put a minimum of 1,000 people – and possibly more than 2,500 – on the streets during a Sunday morning time slot in which they traditionally would be participating in a worship service. The initial idea for the project came through pastors from area churches who regularly meet for prayer each week.
“We go to church every Sunday and all of our people in our congregations will generally do something when a need arises,” Pastor Mark Hurt, of Christ Community Church, said. “But we want people to really think about what it means to serve. We want to move from the seat to the street.”
Though several churches are considering participation and individuals from various congregations plan to join in the mission projects, the core group that is leading the project includes Christ Community Church, First Wesleyan Church of Bartlesville, First Assembly of God of Bartlesville, Life Church of Bartlesville and Bartlesville Southern Baptist.
The event, slated during Fall Break weekend, will place hundreds of people on the streets to show love for their neighbors. Mission projects for the day will include helping clean up the schools and city interections, working with Vision Onward, painting senior citizens’ homes and tidying up apartments.
Pastor Joe Colaw, of First Wesleyan Church, said the Big Serve provides churches and their members with a chance to impact the community in practical ways.
“Very few people like to pick up trash and pull a weed,” Colaw said. “We are going to help clean up the community. We desire to serve others as a demonstration of God’s love to others. Sometimes the church needs to get out of the building and be seen in the community in a more noticeable way.”
The pastors who planned the Big Serve have been praying and planning for months with discussions taking place during weekly get-togethers they have held for years.
Though the pastors’ backgrounds and some of their beliefs are different from one another, Hurt says the group is united in its love for Christ, for one another and for the community.
Pastor Paul Rummage, of Bartlesville Southern Baptist Church, said uniting his congregation with other Christ followers from churches in the community is part of the appeal of the work day.
“We want the community to benefit by the presence of Christ followers, and see that Christianity is not limited to a certain time and place,” Rummage said.
Some of the churches will hold rallies or short services before hitting the streets. First Wesleyan congregants will gather at 9 a.m. that day and begin service projects by 10 a.m. Southern Baptist is planning a 9:30 a.m. rally, followed by community service. All the groups expect to be through with their work by noon.
Bartlesville residents will recognize some of the groups by the Big Serve T-shirts they will be wearing. Others might just be recognizable through their smiles and the work gloves they have donned in place of high heels or Sunday suits.
For Colaw, the Big Serve is a lesson for his congregation in living the message of John 13: 12-17, which is the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus tells his disciples, “Since I your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”
Though individual churches around the country have sometimes closed their doors for a Sunday to do mission work, Bartlesville’s Big Serve day is likely the first time several churches have joined together on a weekend and cancelled services.
“The kingdom of God is bigger than Wesleyan or Baptist or Assembly of God,” Hurt said. “We are united and we want people outside of the church to see that. We’ve got differences, but we love each other.”
For more information about the Big Serve contact Hurt at 331-9376, Colaw at 333-4760 or Rummage at 333-8335.
