Ground Zero: Memorial UMC kids engage in week of service

GREER—Memorial United Methodist Church recently embraced the chance to find new and creative ways for their younger youth to participate in opportunities of mission and service during the summer: Ground Zero.

For three days, the youth of Memorial UMC and their friends partnered with different nonprofit organizations local to Greer: Greer Community Ministries, Greer Relief and Greer Family Shelter.

“If you have been able to be a part of a Salkehatchie camp in the past, you know firsthand how meaningful that experience can be for our youth,” said Director of Spiritual Development and Youth Ministries Lainey Hannon. “The chance to step out of their comfort zones, try new things, get their hands dirty, build new relationships and share the love of Christ with their neighbors, all of those things are imperative to one’s discipleship journey at a young age.”

Hannon said this year, the church’s youth ministry was in a unique position with a large number of younger youth craving a mission experience but weren’t old enough for Salkehatchie’s registration requirements yet. So they decided to try something new.

“We called it Ground Zero: A Week of Service Right Here in Greer,” Hannon said.

They held their own drive-thru canned food drive in their church parking lot one morning with the objective to “Fill The Bus.”

They collected additional items through a simulation challenge where, divided into teams, they each had to shop for specific items within a set budget to meet the needs of a family living below the poverty level.

They later delivered those items to Greer Relief, helped process a number of donations and stocked their pantry shelves.

At Greer Family Shelter, they spent the day pressure-washing the family living units, cleaning out old donations and organizing new ones as they learned about the organization’s mission.

Memorial UMC’s congregation was overwhelmingly supportive of their youth in this week of service as they gathered more than 20 youth and adult volunteers through the course of the week.

Reflecting on Ground Zero’s first year, Hannon said, “There are opportunities to serve all over the world, but we often overlook the needs of those closest to us. It was a gift to be able to witness our youth expand their perception of who their neighbors are, and boldly answer God’s call to love them and serve them as he loves us. They’re already asking what we’ll do next year!”