Mt. Pleasant UMC - Kimesville Responds to a Need in Their Community!

By: Lindsay Hampton

"We saw a need in the community and decided to act on it," Debbie Black, Certified Lay Minister at Mt. Pleasant UMC stated. Mt. Pleasant UMC - Kimesville located in Liberty (Northern Piedmont District) is a rural church that strives to reach more people and focus on building relationships within their community under the leadership of their pastor, Rev. Keith Edwards. 

One of the many ministries that this local church puts on is a relatively new after school program for children and teens of all ages. During COVID, Guilford County Schools discontinued their after school program leaving parents with limited options for after school care for their kids. After talking with multiple families who were struggling to find a solution, Mt. Pleasant staff and leadership took action by partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of High Point to provide free care for children and teens ages Pre-K to 12th grade. 

Thanks to a grant provided by the Boys and Girls Club, children are able to participate in this program at no cost to them! With the help of volunteer leaders, many things are offered to the kids including free tutoring, homework help, free field trips, as well as dinner every evening! They average about 50 children in the program each day. 

However, the vision didn't stop there. Mt. Pleasant had declining children's and youth participation in their church prior to offering the after school program. Once they saw how many kids were attending their campus after school, they decided to change their children and youth weekly gatherings from Sundays to Wednesdays. This way, the kids in the after school program could also participate in the children's and youth ministries of the church since they were already there anyway. "It just seemed like a no brainer," Debbie explains. "We already had the children there...we just needed to start feeding them into our ministries."

Mt. Pleasant UMC - Kimesville continues to find ways to serve by offering ministries based on needs that they identify within their local community. The staff and leadership try to always say "yes" when brainstorming new ideas, no matter how "out of the box" it may seem. Thank you for offering what is needed in Guildford County to grow and expand the missions and ministries of God!