Shaun Groves
There was a time when I couldn’t go a week without mentioning “Redneck Neighbor” and his wife on my blog. When we first moved to the cul-de-sac they welcomed us with open arms, cold beers and a good amount of skepticism about Christians and Christianity. My how things have changed.
Today, five years later, we worship God alongside each other in a cinder block elementary school cafeteria we call church. Redneck Neighbor – Matt – leads a men’s group, helps out with maintenance stuff around the church office/farmhouse, sets up chairs and is generally up for anything anybody needs. He has a voracious inspiring appetite for learning what the Bible means and how to live the way it says to. He’s a changed man.
And his wife, Kim? Well, the painful childhood which fueled her skepticism has been recycled into passion for meeting the needs of children at Spring Hill Elementary where we worship each week. Watch this video about how she and others from our church are serving these kids – the kind of kids she and her siblings used to be:
WellSpring Christian Church: JetPack Project (Kim’s Story) from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.
And here’s a testimony from the principal of Spring Hill Elementary.
WellSpring Christian Church: JetPack Project (Principal Interview) from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.
From the creators of the JetPack Project:
Currently at Spring Hill Elementary School, 236 of the 520 enrolled students benefit from the free or reduced lunch program. It is our hope that The JetPack Project will soon be serving each of these children and their families [by providing them with enough food for the weekend if they choose to receive it]. Across the U.S., there are over 2,200 backpack food programs serving more than 90,000 children each year. Unfortunately, the numbers of food-deficient households are far greater. Spring Hill Elementary will be the first school in our area to implement a program of this kind.
The Redneck Family left the cul-de-sac a while back, out to the country where they could redneck-out and raise cows and drive tractors and four wheelers and such. But we stay in touch. I need that. I need them in my life more than they realize.
I struggle with doubt, ya’ll. It’s a big problem for me. I doubt God is real because of the lack of real change I see in my life and others’. On days when doubt’s whispers are louder than my faith I remember Matt and Kim and I believe. I believe in a God I’ve seen lovingly woo a family from skepticism to surrender. I believe in a God who’s refashioned pain into passion, turned hurt into help.
Next Steps
- Start your own JetPack Project.
- Go here to learn more about our church’s JetPack Project.
- Go here to donate to our church’s JetPack Project through our family assistance ministry The Well.
- Lovingly gently lead your church toward serving your community more than itself. And if it won’t? Well, you’re always welcome in the cafeteria
What innovative ministries are going on in your neck of the woods? Tell us about them.
happy geek says:
Our church is in a neighborhood with lots of new Canadians. So we offer free ESL classes with free childcare. We also offer resume classes, and we open our gym for a gym night where families from the community can just hang and meet families from the church.
We are also part of Inn From The Cold http://www.innfromthecold.org/
And our home group just purchased and dropped off cribs to community families who need one but can’t afford it in partnership with a local agency.
And our kids ministry just collected bags of baby supplies to be handed out through that ministry as well.
PLUS, next month we host the great garage give away, which is a garage sale where we don’t charge anything. Community members can come and get what they need.
I really love my church.
kit says:
Thanks for being so honest about your doubts and what encourages you, I think so many of us can relate but don’t know how to phrase it.
Sara @ Happy Brown House says:
As a former teacher in an inner-city school where EVERY child was on free lunch, I totally understand the need for this ministry. What Kim said in video about being hungry and not being able to concentrate on learning because they are thinking about food, is so true. I had a little boy that would come late almost daily. He would miss breakfast at school and couldn’t function in my classroom. I bought a box of pop-tarts and juiceboxes and set up a cabinet for him to help himself from when he needed to. It made a world of difference in him. I also had kids sneaking food home from the cafeteria in their pockets because they wouldn’t have dinner if they didn’t.
All that to say…I love the heart for the Jetpack Ministry that your friend Kim has!
Kelli says:
Our church began an initiative a few years ago to reach out to our community through practical, loving service. We reach out to the greater St. Louis area and simply ask what people need. From cleaning parks to landscaping for those In need to serving hot meals downtown, thousands of people and several other churches have ow jumped on board and we’re loving one another practically. It’s made a huge impact on our family and our kids and it’s opend the door to several new ministry opportunities that now go on year round. I’m so honored to be a part of this amazing worship community. Here’s the website to learn a little more. http://servestlouis.com/about
Thanks for sharing your heart! The Jet Pack ministry is amazing.
Amy D. says:
An inspiring story. I struggle with doubt, as well. Is there any of us who doesn’t? Well, I wholeheartedly DOUBT that. LOL. When I start thinking “Gosh, maybe this isn’t real”, I remember how we were going to be short a hundred bucks a month, and within minutes of finding out, my husband’s small group leader showed up on our doorstep, out of the blue, and shoved a $100 bill in my hand. He said he had been praying and very strongly felt that he was supposed to bring that to me. He had just lost his wife, unexpectedly, two days prior.
It reaffirms my faith every time.
Do your redneck ex-neighbors read your blog? LOL.
kim says:
Of course we read Shaun’s blog! He and Becky had a huge part in our coming to God and they are forever in our prayers and praises.
Dawn says:
I teach in a school which has free breakfast and lunch for every child. Over 75% of our 500 children qualify for free or reduced meals. We have been blessed by Feed the Children and have a backpack program. Each Friday children take home non-perishables. We are in our third year of the program. My husband’s school is in their first year of a similar program, also supported by Feed the Children. We live and work in counties with unemployment hovering at 10%. This small gift each week is so helpful to our families.
Bernard Shuford says:
“I struggle with doubt, ya’ll. It’s a big problem for me. I doubt God is real because of the lack of real change I see in my life and others’.”
I know that feeling.
Jen~Beautiful Mess says:
Me too…
Thanks Shaun (and Bernard) for your honesty.
Now what do we do about that?
Tj says:
“I struggle with doubt, ya’ll. It’s a big problem for me. I doubt God is real because of the lack of real change I see in my life and others’.”
I needed this message today, because I am struggling with too much thought on what I’m not and not enough on who I am….. and that is redeemed.
Tanya Robinson says:
Love it. All of it. I love the rednecks and I love your honesty about your skepticism. Thanks for sharing it all!
JD says:
Love the Jetpack program, hunger (of any kind, food, spiritual, love) affects us as a whole, and it’s so good to see ministries that tackle this need — reminds me of Compassion! It’s the same concept — hungry children can’t focus on their education or much else.
Ministry… I don’t know if it’s innovative, Shaun, but it’s different from anything else I’ve ever taken on. God is using us (my 12 year old son, along with two friends I met online through Angie Smith’s Bloom Book Club) to build a school in Ghana for rescued child slaves in the Lake Volta region. There is currently a dorm and a 3 classroom unit, but they’re at capacity, and in need of more classroom space so that they can rescue more kids and provide them with an education. Hundreds of children have been rescued so far, but between 4000-10,000 wait for their turn. We’ll be traveling to Ghana in Nov 2011 to work side by side with the modern day Moses who rescues these precious kids.
I’m excited about what God’s doing, and I have to admit that sometimes, even though I don’t doubt that He can do this, I wonder how crazy it is that He’s using 3 of the unlikeliest women to pull this off. $30K? What could He possibly be thinking? Then I remember the Bible stories with the unlikeliest of characters, and I just keep working away at it just to see what He’ll do next, because that’s just the kind of God He is — outside the box. I wouldn’t want to miss a moment of it.
Megan @ Faith Like Mustard says:
LOVE this post. This is exactly what our church has been wanting to do (we have like 90-something percent of kids on free-reduced lunch in elementary school of our small town), but we’ve been bogged down by figuring out the logistics. We started a partnership with our local metro food bank instead, but we really want to focus on “the least of these” (kiddos) who don’t always get fed even if the grown-ups in their house do. Off to investigate your program…
Megan @ Faith Like Mustard says:
P.S. If you’ve got any insider tips on organization and distribution, I’d be glad to hear them!
Redneck Neighbor says:
Megan please email me tnmattallen AT gmail DOT com and I can get you in touch w/ our childrens minister. She worked in one of these programs before & shes spearheading this program. We would love to help in any way.
Megan @ Faith Like Mustard says:
Thanks!