Church Hill Pastor Dustin Jessee plans to bring life to his visions for missions July 9-15. IMPACT is a week-long home mission in the very community where he serves as the Youth Pastor at Ridgeview Baptist Church. Volunteers serving in IMPACT week will be focusing on compassion, unity, selflessness and service. The Word of God and Love of Christ will be shared through a variety of ways, including a Backyard Bible Club, Vacation Bible School, movie nights, and multiple service opportunities in the community. Get excited for IMPACT Week by watching the promo video, or sign upto volunteer. Please read Dustin's blog post which serves as this week's guest Odyssey article.

How do you define greatness? The world defines greatness by popularity, possessions, and position. In other words, if you ever get to the point where you demand service from others, then you’ve officially arrived. Turn on the tv or the radio. Look around you at work and at school. There’s no denying that we live in a “me first” society. In this self-centered culture, being a servant is not only unpopular but it’s a concept that’s seemingly non-existent, even among Christians.

Jesus was the ultimate servant and is the greatest example of what it truly means to be a servant. He measured greatness in terms of service, not status. He determines our greatness by how many people we serve, not the other way around. One of the favorite arguments among Jesus’ disciples was who was the greatest, and not much has changed 2,000 years later as we still struggle with power and status. Our goal as Christians is to become more and more like Jesus every day and we do that the best when we serve others just as He did.

Take a few minutes and read Matthew 25:35-40. The Bible is very clear what we are to do as Christians and that is serving others. Serving others doesn’t have to mean going on a mission trip to a 3rd world county to share the gospel. We all can do something that makes a difference here in our own community. In fact, Scripture (Acts 1:8) is clear that we are to take care of our own community (our Jerusalem) before going to other countries (all the world). Service always takes sacrifice, whether it time or money, or even both, but we are called to make a difference in our world.

The Bible also says in Luke 12:48 that to who much is given, much will be required. Did you know that the poorest 5% of Americans are richer than 68% of the entire world?! Some of us have forgotten just how blessed we truly are. What if God’s people would take to heart Luke 12:48 and began to be intentional about helping and serving those around us? How different would our community be if the church would determine not to have this culture’s mindset of building our own kingdom but focus on building the Kingdom of God?

This summer (July 9-16) we have a wonderful opportunity to serve our community together. We have named this week IMPACT week as it’s our prayer to truly impact our community with the love of Jesus. IMPACT week isn’t just for those that attend Ridgeview Baptist Church, but for anyone who wants to take part in serving our community. We are partnering with several different schools and businesses in the community that week and we need your help. Here is a list of the things going on during the week of IMPACT:

• Helping Lyons Park Baptist Church with VBS
• Backyard Bible Club at Kingsport West Apartments
• Cleaning/Painting at a few elementary schools in Hawkins County
• Construction/Renovation Projects in the community
• The Lunch Box Program (Church Hill and Rogersville)
• Church Hill Food Pantry
• Community Clothes Closet in Church Hill
• Free Autism Training and Workshop for Community
• MARSH blood drive (July 12 at 4:00-8:00)
• Providing Meals for the Homeless in Kingsport (July 9th)

In addition to serving that week, here are a few free events that will be offered that week as well so make sure you tell your friends!

• Community Movie Night at AS Derrick Park in Church Hill (July 13 at 9:00 pm)
  – Free Popcorn and Drinks
• Children’s Water Fun Day at Ridgeview Baptist Church (July 15 from 10am-12pm)
  – Water balloons, slip and slides, and even a fire truck!
• Community Cook-out and Celebration (July 14 from 6-9pm)
  – Inflatables and all kinds of fun and games for children
  – Free Hot dog meal and other concession items

As you can see, there are many options for you and your friends to choose from. You can sign up for as many as you would like until all availability is full. Simply log on to our website, www.ridgeviewbaptist.org/impact, and click on the event(s) and date(s) you wish to serve that week.

We can’t wait to serve alongside you and we’re praying that God does an extraordinary work in our community during the week of IMPACT. If you would like to be a part of IMPACT but unable to serve that particular week, call me at the church and I would love to talk with you. What we desire more than anything is your prayer. Please pray that lives will be changed during the week of IMPACT and that our community will experience the love of Jesus as we serve Him together. I’m confident that together, we can and we will make an impact in God’s Kingdom this summer! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding Impact week as I would love to talk with you! Give me a call at (276) 393-8980 or shoot an email to djessee1013@gmail.com

Praying for you always,

Dustin Jessee

Youth Pastor, Ridgeview Baptist