South Davidson Missional Network Partners with Local Schools

posted on August 09

(submitted by Rev. Brad Treece, SDMN leader)
The South Davidson Mission Network (SDMN) has been blessed to be able to help our schools, local families, and local youth as we show love to our community through partnerships. We have been blessed to be able to provide clothing, personal hygiene products, school supplies, food, and many other necessities for those in need through our local school partnerships. 

It starts with prayer. We meet and pray for how we can help the local children and youth as a missional network. Funding for our projects come from each Spring's weekly Lent Lunch Services and Holy Week Services for the community. We receive monetary donations during those times of worship. Multiple churches, pastors and laity take part in the services and different churches take turns making lunches. We also have had several pastors apply and receive grants from the Uwharrie District Grants and Resources Team.

About five years ago pastors in the South Davidson Missional Network became aware of very specific needs of poverty in our own area and changed our focus of our ministry and resources to helping those in our local community. The SDMN met with local school leaders and asked the simple question, “What do our local kids and youth need?”  We expected to hear about things like supplies. What we heard was basic necessities; like food, clothing, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Since then, we have been blessed in our mission to build partnerships with our local schools, which allows us to work together to reach local needs. We have been able to help set up food pantries inside two schools to centralize food distribution. The relationships have been the fruit of volunteering at our schools, laity involvement, and providing Teacher Appreciation Meals as we make sure our school staff know we care. The schools allow us to work through them to identify the needs in local families. 

In the Spring of 2022, the SDMN worked together in partnership with three schools to provide 54 boxes of food (including a ham) to those in need. The schools knew where the needs were, and God provided! The food boxes were distributed to families in need during Spring Break. Also in the past year, we provided personal hygiene products for teens and a School Bash for school supplies. These blessings are the fruit of working together and the partnerships in our community. There is nothing better than seeing the smiles on the youth and the school staff as we all are making a difference in the lives of children and families in our community.  We feel this is a true United Methodist missional network in action and we thank God for each child in our community as we partner to sow into young lives.