Georgia Baptists leave legacy of faith as World Changers

As Regina Hicks settles into her second grade classroom this week for another year of teaching and helping shape young children’s futures, she can hardly wait for her next summer break.

Although the Adairsville Elementary School teacher finds her profession fulfilling, it’s her annual World Changers summer missions project that repeatedly ranks each year as one of the greatest experiences of her life.

Hicks spent two weeks of her summer vacation volunteering as a group leader and roofing crew chief for World Changers projects in LaGrange and Savannah.

World Changers is a pre-packaged mission experience sponsored by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) that allows teenagers and adults to donate their time to refurbish substandard housing while also developing missions skills and sharing the Gospel. Many projects also include ministry efforts such as Vacation Bible Schools.

“It’s something I will do until I can’t get on a roof,” said Hicks, who also teaches Sunday School and GA’s at Adairsville Baptist Church. “It’s living for God. It’s worshipping God. It’s just such a God-experience.”

Nearly 400 students and adults from across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Alabama participated in the World Changers project in Savannah July 17-24. Volunteers weathered the summer heat and humidity while renovating 33 homes. Five people made professions of faith in Christ.

Witness is evident

“In a community like Savannah where there are so many needs, World Changers has made a tremendous impact over the years,” said Tim Yarbrough, coordinator of the Savannah project and member of First Redeemer Church in Cumming.

“The city partners with World Changers by providing building materials to renovate low-income housing. The witness of World Changers is evident in the hundreds of houses renovated over the years and the people who have come to know Christ as a result of the work there.”

In June, four people made professions of faith during the Friday evening worship service at the conclusion of the World Changers project in LaGrange, Hicks said.

“I just can’t explain how thankful the homeowners are and how much they feel God’s love,” said Hicks who participated in the World Changers projects with her two teenage daughters. “It just really impresses upon them the love these kids have for God.”

World Changers this summer involved more than 24,000 students and adults in 91 projects in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. While serving at more than 1,800 construction sites and more than 250 ministry sites, students also saw 1,456 people make professions of faith in Jesus Christ.

Leaving comfort zones

“I am so proud of our Southern Baptist students who are willing to leave their comfort zones and sacrifice comforts for the Kingdom of God,” said John Bailey, student volunteer mobilization manager for NAMB.

“Every year, I see so much need across North America. In many cities there is little good news. But, blessed are the feet and hands of those 24,000 students and adults, because they are true servant leaders willing to bring hope. God compels them to answer His call and share the good news of Jesus in all of our cities and thereby change our world. I am so fortunate to see God at work in the lives of these students.”

Seventeen-year-old Billy King, a member of Wrens Baptist Church in Wrens, was one of more than 180 teenagers and adults who participated in a World Changers project in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, June 12-19, where 93 people made professions of faith in Christ.

Worshipping through work

King, who has participated in World Changers for the past five summers, said the opportunity is unlike any other Christian camp experience. “It’s about servitude,” he said. “World Changers is not like some camps you go to where you just worship in church the whole time. We’re worshipping the Lord all day with our actions.”

Jim Burton, director of NAMB’s Volunteer Mobilization Team, said hundreds of Southern Baptists teens and adults throughout Georgia have left a legacy of faith across North America through their participation in World Changers.

“The Georgia Baptist Convention’s commitment to World Changers exemplifies the cooperative spirit of Southern Baptists,” Burton said. “They have taken a proactive stance toward managing in-state and out-of-state projects and have done that with excellence.

“This completes the fifteenth summer of World Changers,” continued Burton. “Clearly, God has blessed a ministry that began with 137 participants and this year mobilized more than 24,000 students and their adult leaders.”

Jim Burton

Willie Ware, right, a member of Damascus Baptist Church in Appling, knocks out a doorframe in a home in Cheyenne, Wyo. while Dustin Andrews, Austin, Texas, stands by to assist. Ware and Andrews were among more than 200 student volunteers and leaders participating in World Changers, a ministry of the North American Mission Board. An estimated 25,000 students and their leaders worked on substandard housing in more than 90 cities this summer.

Jim Burton

Whitney Blanchard preps a porch for new paint during a World Changers project in Cheyenne, Wyo. Blanchard is a member of Damascus Baptist Church in Appling.

Jim Burton

Samantha Kendall, a member of Shiloh Baptist Church in Thomaston, concentrates while tapping furring strips into place for the installation of vinyl siding during a World Changer’s home rehab project in Madisonville, Ky.

Jim Burton

Meredith Jolly, a member of First Baptist Church in Cumming, scrapes paint from a garage during a World Changer’s home rehab project in Madisonville, Ky. Jolly is a student at Forsyth Central High School.