Bargersville Church Makes Homegrown Mission Trip

During a recent meeting of the Johnson County Ministerial Association, the pastor from Whiteland United Methodist Church mentioned that an elderly family in Whiteland may have to vacate their home, where they had lived since 1964, if major roof repairs were not completed soon.

The Methodist church had some volunteers able to work on the project, but it needed someone with construction expertise that would know best how to proceed.  Dennis Combs and Terry Doty, from First Christian Church in Bargersville, met with the couple, launching a joint venture between the couple and the two churches to get the roof replaced.

Following the worship service on November 15, twelve people from First Christian volunteered their time, and church members donated $850.  Another group agreed to donate lunch for the workers.

On the following Saturday, 58 volunteers from Whiteland U.M.C., First Christian and Mount Olive Lutheran Church gathered at the home to begin work at 7:00 a.m.  By lunch time they had removed the existing shingles and plywood, replaced damaged trusses and installed new plywood decking.  As dusk fell around 5:30, the new roof was completed.

Many volunteers and donors came together to make the homegrown mission trip a success by organizing workers, food and materials.  As a result, neighbors of the three congregations will be able to remain in the place they called home for 44 years.