[box type=”info” border=”full”]Earlier in July, members from Renew Communities came to Laura’s Home to help with the landscaping on the property, and this is not the first time members from this church have come to help out at Laura’s Home. We asked Curtis Carnes, Pastor of Missional Discipleship at Renew Communities, to write a blog post about their experiences with volunteering at Laura’s Home, and this is what he wrote.[/box]

One thing that our church has learned from Laura’s Home is that transformation can often take a sustained effort over a long period of time. That’s just a nice way of saying that its HARD WORK and it takes a lot more than giving someone a turkey at Thanksgiving!

As a result, one of our Missional Communities has committed to serve there over the long haul. Our group serves there at least once a month and it looks a little different every time. Sometimes its something fun like a family carnival. Other times it is a group time with the women working through the issue of fear. Recently, we had a group time that sought to draw out the women’s strengths and get them to put them into practice.

One woman said that her strength was her story and she wants to communicate it to audiences in order to save them from some of the hardships she has faced. I put her right to work! I told her that she needs to begin writing immediately. The next time we came out to Laura’s Home she came up to me and said, “I’ve been writing!” I told her to go get it. She rushed inside and brought it out right away. I spent 45 minutes coaching her and she turned it from a story into a powerful message that could bring transformation to an audience.  I can’t wait to hear the final product.

This kind of story could never have happened if our church did not commit to a sustained effort over a long period of time. So my question to you churches is this: Who or what has your church committed to serving through a sustained effort over a long period of time? If you can answer that question, great! If not, you should consider thinking it through. Laura’s Home and the City Mission would be a great choice! It doesn’t have to be…as long as you choose something!Laura’s Home and the City Mission are in it for the long haul. You should be too!

We would like to thank everyone from Renew Communities who has come out to Laura’s Home and volunteered their time! Everything that they do makes a huge difference for the women and children at Laura’s Home. If you would like to learn more about Renew Communities, visit their website at http://renewcommunities.com