The Upper New York Conference has hundreds of small churches, with congregations that have less than 50 people in their pews, but that does not mean that these churches cannot do mighty things for God. That does not mean that these churches can’t accomplish amazing ministries for their communities. His another story.
Before we first started dating, my now wife asked me, “So what do your churches do?” I wasn’t sure what she meant - “well we worship on Sundays, have Bible study on Monday nights; there’s choir rehearsal on Thursdays.” “No I mean what do they actually do?” I did my best to not get defensive - I work a complicated job she would soon learn. I started listing the things I do in a week; I never did quite understand what she was asking... until we started the diaper bank.
It started early in the pandemic, at [Waterville United Methodist Church] we wanted to help the people in our community who were experiencing hard times. Diapers, it was pointed out by one of our parishioners, were not covered by any type of government assistance. We started small by identifying five families in our village that were experiencing diaper need. At the start of each month we committed to showing up to these families’ house with a smile and a box of diapers. In those first months we formed relationships with them, celebrated birthdays and holidays, opened our hearts and shared each other's pains as the world seemed to be balancing on a pin. It felt like we were doing some big things back then - but we had no idea what God had in store.
As we continued this project, a newer member of our church confided in me that she’d always thought our area needed a diaper bank. “What’s a diaper bank?” I asked. It’s like a food bank, just with diapers I found out. I found out a lot of things in those early months: over a third of all young families in America struggle to meet their diaper need, a newborn baby can use up to 10 diapers in a day and diapers, it turns out, come in different sizes - who knew?
Since Halloween 2020, when we officially launched It Takes a Village Diaper Bank, we have distributed over 15,000 diapers to any who attend our distributions - no questions asked. We’ve served residents from 27 of the surrounding towns and villages and have interacted with more than 200 unique families so far.
We are the only diaper bank in Oneida County and are working hard to sustainably grow our mission so it can continue to be a resource for families that count on us every month. A generous donation from a neighboring Methodist church now allows us to now move our diaper bank out of the church and into a storefront here in Waterville.
It’s hard to imagine where our church and our community would be if we had said “no” to God’s nudging. We have seen a lot in this past year: some of it good, and a lot of it painful. But what I know for sure is that something is happening that started in our little church and has continued to expand outward. The Spirit has challenged us to see the needs of our neighbors first, to collaborate with other churches and organizations and to be a church willing to take risks and truly step out in faith. In this COVID season, I expect lots of us are searching for God’s guidance. The question we must ask ourselves is who is willing to say yes.
excerpt from a story by Bryant (Waterville UMC Pastor) and Kristina Clark
This story represents how United Methodist local churches through their Annual Conferences are living as Vital Congregations. A vital congregation is the body of Christ making and engaging disciples for the transformation of the world. Vital congregations are shaped by and witnessed through four focus areas: calling and shaping principled Christian leaders; creating and sustaining new places for new people; ministries with poor people and communities; and abundant health for all.
