<< SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2009 >>



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SUMMARY


Im’Paks spent five hours this Saturday morning downtown in the heart of Springfield, Ohio lending a hand to Changing Lives Now Ministry. We were greeted by Sim Bowen and his wife Corina, who gave us a tour of the massive old church that was donated to their ministry. Though beautiful in architecture and huge in square footage, the church had been badly damaged by years of abandonment, water damage, animal infestation, and it had become a hangout for drug dealers and prostitutes. Changing Lives Now Ministries has a vision to resurrect this church and use it to give back and minister to the community—targeting particularly the impoverished. Mr. Bowen spoke of his dreams to have a place where the homeless could shower, do laundry, and visit a food pantry.

We were blessed with the opportunity to come along side the full time volunteers at the church and assist them in their manual labor. We helped paint the entire sanctuary. Fifteen of us lined the perimeter of the prayer room and stripped wall paper. The boys got to try their hand in demolition and knocked out some water damaged ceilings. Many others helped build frameworks for new walls and doorways.

While the building is still without utilities and has a long way to go, some very encouraging progress has been made by hundreds of hours of volunteer work from various community members. We were happy to participate in working on the church and were all encouraged to see God’s work in this place.