UMHB students ask, ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’

BELTON—With “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as their theme, 115 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students conducted an outreach carnival in Belton’s Miller Heights neighborhood.

Funded largely by a grant from the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, the carnival on an elementary school playground was jointly sponsored by the UMHB Baptist Student Ministry, Miller Heights Baptist Church and Hope for the Hungry. The event was in response to the Texas Hope 2010 challenge to share the hope of Christ with every Texan by Easter 2010.

UMHB sophomore Bethany Franz, who interns with Hope for the Hungry’s local children’s outreach program, said the event provided a way for her to reach out, strengthen existing relationships and develop new connections.

“We go every week and start making relationships by just loving on the kids,” Franz said. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor had the same focus and allowed lots of UMHB students the opportunity to show the community Christ’s love.”

Franz described the station setup at the day’s beginning as organized chaos. “A lot of different things were going on all at once,” she said. “We played different games from sack racing to face-painting to water-balloon tossing to just playing on the playground equipment.”

Later, when the entertainment arrived, things settled down as families became focused on entertainers who took the stage—student-rapper Franklin Smith, the Magical Grandpa and Perfect Praise, a children’s group from Cornerstone Baptist Church.

The Perfect Praise team captivated the audience, as the members, peers of children in the audience, recited states and capitals, books of the Bible, presidents and many more facts from memory.

“It was neat to have the kids see others their age who are able to perform like that and give them that motivation,” Franz said.

After the entertainment, Miller Heights Baptist Youth Minister Michael Meadows presented the gospel, followed by free Bible distribution.

“The UMHB students and Miller Heights’ youth presented the gospel in more than just words,” Meadows said. “That was the important part. We can share the gospel without ever breaking out our Bibles and telling about Jesus. We can share the gospel by living our lives in ways that glorify Christ. So, their actions probably had more impact in lives than any words I said.”

The event’s atmosphere gave families the opportunity to encounter Christ in a non-threatening environment, Meadows said. He saw the event as a step forward in the community because a large number of its members are unchurched and unreached.

“Many would never set foot in a church because of the stereotypes of what church is, but Won’t You Be My Neighbor allowed people to see the universal church in a different light,” he said. “People interacting with people who aren’t much different than themselves. Hopefully, it will make them less intimidated to get involved in things in the future. That would be an asset to the community.”

Interaction between the students and the community was a win-win for both, he added.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor student Michael Beech shares popcorn with a child at a neighborhood outreach carnival in Belton. (PHOTOS/Shawn Shannon)

“It encouraged students to venture out of their campus bubble and realize a real community needs their help in Belton,” he said.

The eagerness and volume of college volunteers allowed the day to progress so smoothly, organizers agreed. Shawn Shannon, UMHB BSM director and organizer of the event, said the turnout of students surprised her and was an answer to prayers.

Going into the event, she said, “I did not know how many students would get involved, but a pleasant surprise was that students did get involved.”

Shannon, who saw the project from its proposal to the follow-up thank you notes, said in the end “many fingers had been in the pie when it got served.” Not only did the students lend hands for the day, but many other people from the community and university pitched in to create the finished product.

So for Shannon, it was a treat to see the day unfold, watch relationships being built between the community and the ongoing ministries, and to encounter selflessness through the hours of preparation and clean-up.

“I personally appreciate the generosity of people who make things like this possible. How many people it took and how much generosity it took from everyone to do this. That matters to me and that makes me want to do my part when others are doing something complex,” Shannon said.

Participants stressed the singular focus of all the volunteers involved.

“It was awesome to see our university work together for one purpose in mind and to give up our time and just focus on the community,” said Franz.