Faith in Action reflects Jesus' love

(Above): Faith in Action day: clean-up on the Erie Canal. (Below): A volunteer sporting the church T-shirt designed for the work day.

“I’m so proud of our church family and how much they give themselves to reaching one more for Jesus,” says Pastor Tom Stroup of his congregation at Brockport FMC (NY). “This past year in particular, we’ve really put our faith into action.”

The church bought 44 acres surrounding its current property, raising the required monies in just a year — above and beyond regular offerings. Stroup estimates there are some 72,000 unconnected (to church) folks in the area. “There are a lot more ‘out there’ than ‘in here,’” he says. “We aim to change that.”

One way the congregation is impacting its community is by handing out 38,000 bottles of water (tagged with the slogan “BFMC, A Place for You”) at local events.

In July they cancelled one weekend’s services and turned out en-masse (in matching T-shirts) for Faith in Action day. “We wanted to share Christ by serving others,” says Stroup. Armed with projects identified by community leaders, church members did landscaping and cleaning. “Some 200 people donated 800 hours to bring beauty to our community,” says Stroup. “It was an incredible reflection of God’s love.”

Community leaders were taken aback by how much was accomplished and the quality of the work. The townspeople noticed too. “We’ll definitely do this again,” says Stroup.

Pastor Tom Stroup

Changed lives, that’s the goal. Just this past year the church saw 40 first-time commitments and 18 recommits. Plans are underway for impacting and influencing their community afresh.