Over 1,000 North Carolina churches gear up to help their communities through statewide initiative

By Graham Colton, CP Contributor Monday, July 15, 2024

The hands and feet of Jesus are moving and walking in the Tar Heel State.

At least 1,003 churches in North Carolina have pledged to participate in ServeNC, a statewide initiative from Aug. 3 to Aug. 10 calling on church members to complete service projects in their local communities. Most participating churches are affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

The convention's Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Unzincker told The Christian Post that every church serves every community in this initiative.

"And that was how could we not only declare the love of Jesus but we could demonstrate the love of Jesus," he said. "And what if we could all do it together — where 'on mission together' was more than a slogan but it was an actuality. And we wanted to glorify the Lord … by meet[ing] human needs, and we wanted to tell a different story when people thought of Baptists."

Service projects will range from food pantry projects and free yard sales to wheelchair ramp builds and back-to-school distributions. Projects have been tailored to each community's specific needs, and churches are still reporting new projects online.

One project for the state's churches is already underway: unity.

"What we're aiming to see is unity within our community so that we can better serve and reach our community in Jesus' name," Pastor Andrew Clark of Arran Lake Baptist Church in Fayetteville said in a statement. "If your church ceased to exist, would your community notice? Would they miss you?"

Those who attended Arran Lake's regional ServeNC rally in May could answer Clark's questions with a resounding "yes." The rally facilitated volunteer opportunities at area ministries and nonprofits for members of various churches, serving quite literally as a "rallying point," according to the press release.

Unzincker hopes the statewide rally next month will continue in different ways long after it formally ends.

"We know that the Holy Spirit moves on hearts that say, 'ServeNC is more than just one week.' This is something that churches can do throughout the year. And the ministries will pop up through this," he said.

"If we just go out and do a bunch of good deeds and then put Purell hand sanitizer on our hands and say, 'Look at us,' then we've missed it. This is an opportunity to open our eyes to the needs around us and an opportunity for those in need to see that the churches care."

While a church serving its community is not a novel concept, the whole body of Christ doing so together is "special," Unzincker said. Although around 30,000 Baptists will serve together statewide, he hopes that churches will look to the Holy Spirit for project ideas instead of looking to event organizers.

"We don't want to be clanging gongs and telling a homeless person about Jesus while not meeting their needs," he said. "We don't want to be a clanging gong that ignores the needs around us. We want to do both ends. We want to meet people's physical needs. We [also] want to give people help for today and hope for tomorrow."

Any church wishing to sign up for ServeNC can do so at servenc.com. The website offers free promotional materials, training and other resources to help churches prepare for the August event.

Unzincker said the event partly serves as preparation for a more important one.

"God taught to us to be deployed — to bring His kingdom come, [His will be done] on earth as it is in Heaven," he said. "So we just asked the question, 'Why not in North Carolina as it is in Heaven?'"