A day of giving in Rockingham County

A sea of fluorescent yellow Operation Inasmuch T-shirts filled the sanctuary of Mayodan First Baptist Church early Saturday morning. Although each wearer was there to perform a different job, all were on hand for one purpose.

“It’s about sharing God’s love with others,” said the Rev. Randy Jessup, pastor of Mayodan First Baptist. “It’s a day of coming together as one in Christ, to reach out into our community and demonstrate the unconditional love God has shown to us.”

For the second consecutive year, more than 500 volunteers from local churches joined forces to perform community service projects throughout Madison, Mayodan and Stoneville.

Alan Hensley, director of Mayodan First Baptist’s OIAM program, told volunteers attending Saturday morning’s opening ceremony he was overwhelmed at the sight of so many people.

“This is definitely a God thing,” Hensley said. “It’s far more than we could accomplish on our own.”

Operation Inasmuch began in 1995 as a one-day outreach project for Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville. The program grew so successful at involving church members with people in their community that it was soon picked up by neighboring churches. Within a few years, the missions project spread to neighboring counties, states and even to Canada and England.

The project’s primary focus is mobilizing church members to reach out to people outside the church walls. Operation Inasmuch is based on a lesson Jesus taught his disciples on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 25:40 – “And the King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’”

Projects vary from church to church, just as the numbers of church members involved. Some churches focus on one or two projects, while others create dozens of scenarios designed to mobilize large numbers from the congregation.

Filling the pews in front of Hensley on Saturday morning were volunteers anxious to begin tasks ranging from making sandwiches and packing bag lunches for the 400-plus OIAM workers to building handicap-accessible ramps or painting a house.

Following Hensley’s instructions, volunteers left the sanctuary to head to their work destinations. Some stayed at First Baptist to prepare no-sew blankets for residents at local nursing homes. Others moved traveled to the Mayodan United Methodist Church parking lot to begin a free car wash project.

Many more piled in cars and trucks to travel to work-sites throughout the Western Rockingham area for construction projects. Some split into groups to provide free house-cleaning services for elderly or disabled residents, while others divided up outdoor clean-up projects for citizens with similar difficulties.

Volunteers from Woodbine Baptist, Mayodan UMC, New Vision Fellowship, Comer’s Chapel Baptist and Osborne Baptist joined Mayodan FBC members Saturday in the community outreach. All joined forces in fulfilling dozens of mission projects and hosting a Family Fun Day for local residents at Mayodan Ballpark. The unifying goal for the congregations was simply to serve others.

The Rev. James Crews, pastor of Woodbine Baptist, delivered devotionals at North Pointe of Mayodan and Britthaven of Madison prior to song services by a volunteer chorus representing several churches.

“When we serve others, we serve God,” Crews said. “This is our way of providing a love gift to our community.”