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2010-02-01 issue:

Children work alongside Mennonite youth

Service evangelism bears fruit in underserved Columbus neighborhood.

by Joel V. Copeland

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Last summer, two little girls in one of Columbus, Ohio's, poorest neighborhoods looked out their window and saw a group of teenagers approaching the house.

Mennonite youth volunteer and work children in Columbus, Ohio, during Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009.

Faith, 6, and Serenity, 5, live in a low-lying expanse of desolation appropriately called the Bottoms on the city’s west side. The group's leader, an orange-clad volunteer from Agora Christian Services, came to the door and asked the girls' mother if she would like to have her yard cleaned of trash. The woman accepted the offer, and in a matter of minutes a service team from the Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 swarmed her yard, cleaned it and bagged the litter.

Agora Christian Services is a Mennonite ministry that has served the residents of Columbus' west side since 1995 and now focuses on serving children. Before Convention 2009 last July, attendance at Agora's kids' meetings averaged 60-70 children each evening. Since the convention, 100-120 regularly attend.

Faith and Serenity joined in the cleanup with the youth. When their yard was finished and the group moved on to the neighbor's, the girls—with their mother’s permission—stayed with the team and worked alongside. They quickly formed a bond with the group, and when it came time to part, the girls begged to stay.

Monica Koshmider, the team leader and Agora volunteer from Walnut Creek Mennonite Church in Holmes County, Ohio, said, "A child must live a really deprived life if a total stranger, after just a few minutes of showing them love and attention, produces such a dramatic response. The girls were heartbroken that we were leaving."

Scenes like this played out dozens of times during Convention 2009 in Columbus. Teams of Mennonite youth, totaling more than 600, spread out across the Bottoms and adjoining neighborhoods, led by Agora volunteers. They moved street by street, house to house, and offered yard work and made friends.

The story does not end here. Faith, Serenity and other children like them saw something new during those days: They witnessed young people serving with no thought of material reward, giving and asking nothing in return, and loving with no conditions. 

Agora's director, Pastor Rich Bartholomew, says: "A personal relationship with Jesus Christ offers hope in the most desperate circumstances. Cleaning up yards and befriending children has opened many doors for the cleansing work of Christ in the people of the Bottoms.  And it is this cleansing work of Christ alone that interrupts otherwise unstoppable generational cycles."

Agora Christian Services provides job training and educational support for older youth and holds weekly kids’ meetings on Wednesday and Saturday evenings that are attended by neighborhood children ranging in age from toddler to teen. 

Agora Christian Services  is extending its ministry to children in 2010 with the opening of the Little Gems Early Education Center, which by the end of the year will be serving nearly 90 children and their families. For more information, go to www.agoraministries.org.

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