April 27, 2008 -
Calvary and Covenant Join Forces to Reach Out to the Community In "Operation In As Much 2008"
On Saturday, April 19 2008, members of Calvary Baptist Church and Covenant Baptist Church reached outside their wall to serve the people of Lancaster. This effort was called “Operation In As Much, (OIAM)” based on the scripture Matthew 25:44-45 (KJV) 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
With over 230 serving from Calvary and Covenant and with the help of FBC Lancaster’s giant inflatable an estimated 300 people enjoyed a fun day of food, games, and a carnival atmosphere in the parking lot on Wylie street beside Calvary Church. John Story and Ed Sizemore from Second Baptist, Chad Catledge from FBC, and Phil Scott and Jim Keown from Covenant opened up their businesses’ parking lots for this block party.
In total 11 service projects were performed during OIAM, including Prayer Warriors, Renovation and Clean Up at the Family Promise of Lancaster Day Center, Neighborhood Clean Up, a Laundry Mat Ministry, Building a Wheel Chair Ramp, and Collection and Distribution of Care Packages and Goods for several local ministries.
Tim Howard, the coordinator of OIAM and minister of Spiritual Growth at Covenant said, “This is Covenant’s 8th year of hosting OIAM. It is a great joy to see the church respond to the needs of the community. Having an official partnership with Calvary, support from FBC, and representatives from 4 Moriah churches is such a blessing. We pray that Operation In As Much can be our life style at Covenant and that other churches will continue to partner with us in building God’s Kingdom.”
