MT. WASHINGTON—Churches from Nelson Baptist Association gathered in Mt. Washington on Sept. 8 for their association’s Crossover event, Saturate Mt. Washington, preceding their annual meeting the following day.

The event involved 85 people from 12 area churches coming together to do service projects and community outreach, essentially “putting feet to” the annual meeting’s theme, “Helping the Hurting,” Stan Lowery, Nelson Association’s director of missions, said.

“It was an outreach event, that got our churches working together to do it, and so building the unity of our work together and spreading the Gospel,” Lowery said.

Throughout the day, groups put together three block parties in Mt. Washington at First Baptist, Pleasant Grove Baptist and Bethany Baptist churches, served at Sunrise Children’s Services’ Spring Meadows facility, worked in a garden at Crossroad’s Elementary School, and helped with painting and working with shrubs to help Mt. Washington Community Ministry move to its new building. Others spent time witnessing door-to-door in the community, added Evan Knies, Nelson Association’s ministry assistant.

This first-time event, organized by Nate Young of Mercy Hill Baptist Church and Jake Lynch of First Baptist, Mt. Washington, mimics the Southern Baptist Convention’s and the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Crossover events before their respective annual meetings.

Although contacts were made and the Mt. Washington community benefited from service projects, one of the biggest take-aways for participating churches was realizing that, “we’re in this together,” Lowery said.

“I think those who participated, got a lot out of doing it, not only making contacts in the community, but also working together, meeting folks from other churches,” he continued. “These churches were able to meet folks that are outside of their normal, everyday contacts.”

Lowery is excited about what he learned from this year and how next year’s event can be even better. He added, “I was very pleased with what took place.” (WR)