Collaborative Efforts in Process

Ray Williams led the group in determining what projects the churches are already doing together and what projects they need to do together. The projects that the group discovered they were doing together were united prayer, transitional programs that included life skills and job training, network of churches, housing programs, community focus luncheons in which helping agencies could have a forum to share how the churches could serve, community development, prison mentoring and other ministry, addiction help, Celebrate Recovery, student mentoring, school adoption, homeless assistance, foster care, and adoption. Some of the things that the churches determined that they need to do together was championing justice, after school enrichment programs, common cause community groups in which people interested in a particular ministry are directed from all the churches to one group focused on that ministry.

When given the opportunity to "invest" time and resources into particular ministries from the list developed, three projects came to the top for efforts involving all the churches in the community. They were hunger, Sharefest, and foster care. In a hunger initiative the churches would support existing organizations such as the Rice Depot and Food Bank. It was noted that their is a relationship between Sharefest and hunger. Some things already in play concerning foster care are The C.A.L.L., existing group homes around the state, and PromiseLand's House of Hope. The objective is to provide a caring environment for every child in the county.

For smaller groups of churches the following top four initiatives came to light: recovery ministry, transitional ministry, prison ministry, and Life Guard which is a non-profit organization involved in mentoring middle school youth involved in risky behavior.