Mount Olivet United Methodist Church

We arrived at First Baptist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina! We are getting all settled in and ready for an exciting week of ministry ahead!

This morning we worshipped at Lighthouse Shining Ministries where we will be serving this week and it was such a JOY!!! The congregation was so incredibly welcoming and we heard a powerful message from Pastor Rico. We are so excited to be serving alongside this ministry!

After worship this morning we walked around downtown Wilmington and spent some time praying for this community, our partners, and the ministry set before us. God is at work in this place and we are grateful to be a part of shining His light here!

We began lots of painting projects today at Lighthouse Shining Ministries. We gave the sanctuary a fresh coat of paint and did some outdoor painting work!

We had another crew cleaning out a room that will be turned into a cafe space for intentional relationships to be built in the community. The space is really coming along!

It is such a joy to partner with Pastor Rico at Lighthouse Shining Ministries and we are so grateful to be serving alongside him and this congregation!

This morning we continued the ministry set before us at Lighthouse Shining Ministries. We did lots of deep cleaning to continue preparing “The Manna Cafe” to be opened and we gave the sanctuary a second coat of paint.

We were asked to step into many different areas of ministry around the church today and we worked together with glad hearts in all of it! The joy of the Lord is our strength!

In 2002 a small group at First Baptist Church decided to hand out hot chocolate to members of the community and 20 years later the ministry is going strong! By the grace of God and the faithful leadership of Garry, this small act has turned into a weekly ministry that provides food, clothing, showers, and most importantly community in Christ to the homeless.

Tonight we had the incredible opportunity to serve alongside Garry and this congregation and we saw God move in mighty ways! It’s amazing what God can and will do when we simply make ourselves available.

The sunshine came out in Wilmington today and we headed to Carolina Beach! We had a blast in the waves, playing games on the beach, and walking the boardwalk. 

We are back at Lighthouse Shining Ministries today wrapping up some exciting projects! More painting is underway and we are cleaning up around the church to give it a fresh look. We also laid mulch and planted some flowers to beautify the property!

We decided to surprise Pastor Rico by providing pavers for the walkway they have been hoping to install. The look of joy and gratitude on his face when we pulled up and unloaded the pavers was priceless!

We wrapped up our final ministry day at Lighthouse Shining Ministries today and our biggest project of painting the sanctuary is complete. Here is a photo of the finished space!

We also helped set up today for food distribution at Lighthouse Shining. The church does a distribution a couple times each month for anyone in need and in the afternoon we helped with handing out the food for today’s distribution. It was neat to meet so many people from the community we have been serving in!

It has been a blessing to serve alongside Pastor Rico, Deacon Rodgers, and so many amazing members of this congregation!

We are on the road headed back home today with full hearts! It was a joy to serve this community and build so many beautiful relationships. We have so many reasons to praise the Lord!