Future Impact

By Ken Akers

In a world where it seems everyone thinks only about themselves, I find encouragement in people like the ones who volunteer for IMPACT. They go out of their way to do jobs that need to be done, jobs that many times the local congregation cannot do without help. Battling heat and poison ivy doesn’t sound appealing, but it’s part of the task. Since it began, IMPACT has made a difference, not only to those we serve, but also to those serving.

Impact Cincinnati

“Y’all need help in here?” one of the teenagers from a church hundreds of miles away asked as she stuck her head in the humid Sunday School room. She looked around and decided she could be of more service elsewhere, so she continued her hunt. She was looking to make an impact on Ambassador Church, and she wasn’t the only one. Forty volunteers (ages seven and up) were ready and willing to do whatever the pastor asked. Some painted classrooms and the ceiling of the 400-person auditorium while others chopped down trees and washed the church sign. I watched as denominational leaders painted and pulled, sawed and sweated alongside church members.

The visitors weren’t the only ones to make an impact, however. As I trimmed baseboards with my paintbrush, I began talking with the other workers. Beverly, one of the church members at Ambassador, said, “Well, you’ve been prayed for already; did you know that? We got together yesterday and prayed for the people who were going to show up today.”

Another 39 volunteers at Lighthouse FWB Church completed a different task: canvassing the neighborhood. Workers distributed information about the church in the surrounding area. After handing out 800 flyers, Convention Moderator and Pastor Tim York expressed pride in his youth group: “Grateful for how our teens served during IMPACT today…they were troopers in the heat.”

Future Impact

This year’s workday made an impact on future conventions. While eating lunch (When do Free Will Baptists ever get together and not eat?), a member of the Ambassador host church said, “You know what this means! Next year, we’ve got to go to IMPACT—wherever it is.”

And, Bobby Courtney, Pastor at Lighthouse FWB Church reports that since IMPACT Cincinnati, the church has had visitors in every service and two salvation decisions. Is IMPACT worth all the time and effort? For those two souls, the answer is an emphatic yes!

Want to know more? IMPACT is a National Convention-sponsored event organized by Master’s Men. Anyone can participate. Make plans now to join other volunteers in Oklahoma City, July 18, 2020, to make an eternal impact on the host city. Visit www.fwbmastersmen.org throughout the year for more details.