Congratulations Church Family!

Posted:05-05-2008
Our church recently received an award you need to know about.  Here is the media release:

Colonial Heights Baptist Church has been selected for the 2008 Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award for Achievement in Volunteer Service in Faith-Based Service.  They will be honored at the 16th Annual GIVE Awards Ceremony on April 25, 2008 at the Jackson Marriott for their work with George Elementary School in the Battlefield Community of Jackson.  The awards are presented by the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, Governor Haley Barbour, and First Lady Marsha Barbour.

“The GIVE Awards are a powerful reminder of Mississippi citizens whose spirit of generosity and goodwill is essential to their communities,” said Marsha Meeks Kelly, executive director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service.

George Elementary, an inner city school in Jackson, has maintained superior ratings for the last four years, and Colonial Heights Baptist Church has played a major role in this achievement.  Church members volunteer and serve the school in a variety of capacities and have donated numerous goods to the school and the surrounding community.  They recently purchased property near the school to provide a place for children to go after school.  The church’s Lifegroup Mission Adoption Partnership has each adopted a class and works with the teacher concerning the needs of each class and ways to meet those goals.  Colonial Heights also developed the Good News Club to reinforce the CORE Traits of the Jackson Public School District.  Club leaders build on student’s knowledge and allow them to work on skills that reinforce and support classroom instructions.

The effectiveness of this partnership is evident in the test scores, parental involvement, student attendance, and heightened school morale.  The active participation and commitment from Colonial Heights Baptist Church helps to encourage and inspire teachers, students and parents in the Battlefield Community.

I am so proud of YOU!  God receives all the glory, but I commend you for letting Him use you to further His kingdom.  The article leaves the most important thing out . . . lives have been changed through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There is still much to do.  This community will only be changed one life at a time.

In Christ,