For the last five years, CSM has prioritized its mission to
find where the Lord is moving in a community and join them by being a valuable
and reliable partner. We build a collaborative partnership around common
mission, common values, and common vision. We work hard to walk alongside local
partners to find the places where we intersect and build on one another’s
values in the community.
Our desire is to engage a partner community by investing
time with the leadership to build lasting impact by working within the existing
structure. One of our cherished partners is Bethel Baptist Church in
Collegeville, a North Birmingham community affected by environmental pollution
and housing decay. The church is full of life and history, beginning during the
Civil Rights Movement with the late pastor, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and now with
the current pastor, Rev. Thomas Wilder. The Bethel Baptist Church Foundation provides
an amazing education program that pulls back the curtain to the heartaches and
victories of the community, and we have taken many groups there to learn and
grow. Recently, I took a class from Samford University to spend the day with the
Executive Director, Martha Boyer. Martha is a former school educator who is now
investing her time and talent into the Collegeville community. She spent the
morning teaching us about Collegeville and gave us a great history lesson in
the Civil Rights Movement and what has happened since.
Our work in this community focuses around community change
in education, recreation, spiritual, health and housing. We helped Bethel
Baptist take the STAIR reading program into the local school to improve reading
skills with 2nd graders. This past Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving, we worked
with church members to serve their community through outreach events. We are
hoping to refurbish the former home of Pastor Shuttlesworth in order to bring
the historical value and pride back into the community. Pastor Wilder wants to
rebuild and strengthen the community in which he has worked for over 27 years,
and we want to come alongside them to connect our resources with their needs.
Our role in community engagement takes time. We want to
build strong and trusting relationships while we walk together to accomplish
the purpose for which we have all been called… to make a difference for
permanent change now and for eternity.
