Amelia Thrift Store an example of Risk-Taking Mission
Reminiscent of the Little Engine That Could, two small rural churches are endeavoring to do the impossible — quite simply because no one has told them that they cannot. Odds are against them, but do not tell them that because they are moving forward with overwhelming success and the support of their whole community. If you ask them, they will tell you the answer in a heartbeat. Their success is in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
They have just given away the net proceeds from their first month of operating a thrift store. Everything in the store is donated; church members work there as unpaid servants, and they give all of the harvest to needs in the local community.
Last fall I selected Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations as our group study. The two churches (Jetersville and Salem), each with average worship attendance hovering between 30 and 50, meet together weekly for Bible studies. I publicized the new series and gave an overview in my sermon before the series started. The Five Practices resources, designed principally for larger congregations, suggest committee formation to tackle each of the practices. I adapted these resources to this smaller audience and we met for 15 weeks, studying each practice for three sessions. During the entire study, we consistently had attendance between 15 and 20, showing a remarkable amount of interest, more than our usual study series generates.
Each three weeks, as we transitioned into another practice, my sermon focused on that new practice, allowing all church members an opportunity to become familiar with the practice and its importance to both personal growth and church growth.
We started with the practices of Radical Hospitality and Passionate Worship. At this point during the study, four of us traveled to a “Change the World” conference at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Ohio. We were so excited and ready for mission when we returned that I changed the order of the study and we next studied Risk-Taking Mission and Service. We were anxious to share what we learned at Ginghamsburg. Those three weeks were the most intensive, prayer-filled, high-energy-level sessions of all. We made a list of 25 things we could do to meet needs in our community using our talents and resources, and then we prayerfully considered them all. The list was broad and filled with hope. Items included everything from building handicapped-accessible ramps for those in need to opening a youth center. The group reached a consensus that we would open a thrift store, and we have been working toward that goal ever since.
One of the most concerning questions we had was: “How would we fund our new mission?” The answer was found in our weeks studying Extravagant Generosity. At Christmas we were asked to remember that “Christmas is not your birthday,” an idea from Mike Slaughter at Ginghamsburg. Families were challenged to give as much to the mission as they spent on their immediate families. By the first of the year, we had more than $10,000 to start the mission.
We continued to meet weekly, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide us, and after an exhaustive search, we leased a vacant storefront on Route 360. We selected two store managers (one from each church), a treasurer and a “servant matcher.” We built and bought fixtures and pooled our own donated goods, opening the door on Feb. 21. We had good sales from day one. One month later, we had smoothed out many start-up difficulties and held our grand opening. Amid live music and free hot dogs, the people shopped. And we celebrated: it was our most successful day so far, and sales since then have been great. Daily we are affirmed by members of the community who express gratitude that we are open. They remind us with their words and prayers that we are unique and a true blessing to the community. Several have joined us in service at the store. Our mission has three purposes: to recycle usable products, to provide affordable products, and to use the proceeds for needs in our community.
We are bombarded with donations and have received a donated container to temporarily hold the goods, because our floor space is limited. We were cautioned to lease a larger space, but we just could not envision how much this mission was needed in our community. We have given the Amelia Food Bank $1,604, enough to potentially purchase more than four tons of food.
If you are traveling down Route 360 in Amelia County, stop by the Amelia Thrift Store. We are only 0.3 miles from the only stoplight in the county. Maybe you will find something you like, maybe you will find something you need. I know that you will find servants in a risk-taking mission for Christ.
— The Rev. Mike Davis is pastor of the North Amelia charge in the Virginia Annual Conference. This article is reproduced with permission of the Virginia United Methodist Advocate.
1. Norma Townsley wrote on 7/25/2009 9:45:33 AM
WOW! What a refreshing testimony of the Spirit's work in a real church and real people. Thanks so much for sharing this!
2. Mike Davis wrote on 7/28/2009 9:25:49 AM
Thanks for highlighting our story! God has truly blessed us with the Amelia Thrift Store. We have more donations than we can handle, we are now getting "servants" from other area churches and we have given away over $10,000 in just 4 months.
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