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Y! MyWebHundreds of youths to perform community service next week
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Momentum is a youth conference taking place next week at Cedarville University. The conference is sponsored by CE National, an Indiana-based help ministry for the fellowship of Grace Brethren churches.
We Care Dayton — a component of Momentum — is a faith-based initiative that will drop off hundreds of conference attendees in and around Dayton on July 26 to perform voluntary acts of community service.
One of the beneficiaries of We Care Dayton will be Tim Nixon, pastor of the relatively new Cornerstone Grace Church, 6412 E. Ohio 73, Springboro.
"We try to do something at the church every month for the community," said Nixon, who founded Cornerstone in 2006. "We bought gas, we go to little league games and hand out sunscreen just to be part of the community. I knew Momentum was coming to town and that they planned to send youths out to do service. I asked if they could send some kids to Springboro."
CE National gave Nixon the thumbs up.
"They asked how many kids I wanted. I said a hundred, knowing they wouldn't give me a hundred," Nixon said. "They said 'OK.' So for Saturday, July 26, I've got 500 man hours of students along with the members of our church. We can really make a difference in our community."
Momentum youth conference begins Monday, July 21, and runs through July 26.
"Momentum is primarily for high school aged young people," said Ed Lewis, executive director of CE National. "The purpose of the conference is to help build godly character in the lives of young people.
"That's why we have We Care Dayton. On Saturday we'll send out 1,500 people all over the city. They'll do everything from pick up trash and weed gardens to planting flowers."
Lewis said CE National encourages young people to support local churches.
"We want them to feel like church is their friend," Lewis said. "We want them to understand that youth groups are helpful to them. And we're trying to teach them to love God and serve God. We want kids not to be responders, but initiators."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2167 or kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.
