Our Heart

it's not about us

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Jesus summed up everything God wants from his people in two things: love God and love others the way we love ourselves. One of our core beliefs is that God calls people to live selfless lives and show love to other people. Our church has many expressions where we live this out together to remind us to do the same in our everyday life. Here are some examples:

Our church has invested heavily into the local elementary school. Over 30 people from MHBC volunteer as reading mentors for at-risk kids in the school. We do everything from providing school supplies, hall monitors during FCAT, serving on the PTA and providing meals for teachers on inservice days. Upson has been an A school for three years now, and we are proud to have been able to contribute.

This ministry's mission is to spread God's love by lending a helping hand to those in need. We offer minor home repairs, yard work and other services around the home. This is intended for senior citizens, single moms or others in need. If you know of anyone who could use some help around the house, please let us know. For more information, contact Sonny at 904-826-5444.

In one of the houses adjacent to the church, we have a group of volunteers committed to providing clothes to the neighborhood at a very low cost. This ministry also provides clothing free to those that cannot afford it and connects people to other ministry areas (food pantries, rehabilitative services, etc) as they need it. Helping Hands hours are noted on our church calendar.

On Halloween, MHBC holds the single largest event of the year. Over 100 volunteers come together to set up a fall festival--with loads of candy, games and free dinner--for all of the neighborhood families in order to provide a safe atmosphere for trick or treating. We generally have over 1,000 people attending this annual event. If you're interested, come on by on Halloween from 6-8pm. Parking is limited (we set up in the parking lot), so we suggest walking if you live nearby.

From time to time, we organize community cleanup days where we pick up trash and weed flower beds on the first block (by Moon River). We also do some yardwork for neighbors in need. If this is your thing, you can email Doug Cooley to find out when the next day is planned.

We have done three "Gas Buy-down" events. What is that? It's simple. We raise money and lower the price of gas by 50 cents to a dollar. The event has always taken place at the Kangaroo station at Post and Edgewood and generally involves very long lines of people. We just want to help ease the burden. This event is funded in a unique way. Many of us go out to eat on Sundays after church, and instead of doing so, we eat sandwiches for a month in the church gym and donate the money we would have spent to the cause.

For the past two years, we have teamed up with the Murray Hill Athletic Association to create a "Major League Experience" for their baseball players on the final day of games. We bring in our portable sound systems and provide announcers, ballpark organs and additional fans with posters. We also bring posters so the parents can make their own for their kids. We run concessions so that the parents don't have to. The best thing is that we have a great time doing this event...who doesn't like a good baseball game? If you want to get involved, we are hoping to team up again this year. Contact Doug Cooley to sign up.

This event is one of the easiest and simplest things we do, yet it always gets a huge turnout and positive response. On the Saturday before Easter Sunday, we bring a bunch of eggs (donated by our members) filled with candy and hide them in Four Corners Park. We split the kids up by age groups and let them get to work. So, next year on the Saturday before Easter, head out to Four Corners park (Lamboll and Lawnview) at 10am. We'll be there! Want to volunteer? Email Stacie Ponton, our Children's Minister.

Everybody loves a good car wash, right? This car wash is a little different, though. We wash your car, and then we give you a dollar to go do something nice for somebody else. It's a small gesture, but we believe that the change in attitude is worth it. Powerful things begin to happen when people start looking for ways to intentionally bless others.

We are always looking for innovative ways to show Christ's love to our neighbors in Murray Hill. Please feel free to share these ideas with us at any time. You can email us at info@mhbc.net.