The phrase "Bellevue Loves Memphis" has become common in our church and around our city. It is the heartbeat of our local missions efforts to invest in the redemption of the people of our community.
Four times a year, we come together as a church to show the love of Jesus to Memphis by meeting the practical needs of those who live here. We meet these needs through Bellevue Loves Memphis Workday projects that range from construction and remodeling at local schools to packing bags of encouragement for local first responders, allowing everyone to get involved in some way.
Each year, one of those four quarterly Workdays takes on even more meaning—and a name change. On the fourth Saturday of October, this Workday is referred to as "Jesus Loves Memphis." During this Serve Out opportunity, rather than Bellevue Sharing Jesus as an individual church, the Church at large comes together. Bellevue joins with other Memphis churches to serve our community and tell others about our great God!
October 24 was our 2020 Jesus Loves Memphis Workday. We offered more than 20 projects across Shelby County, and more than 300 Bellevue volunteers alone are registered to serve.
David Van Pelt, Bellevue member and Missions Leader for the Tim Shelton Life Group, actively serves through our Missions department and Jesus Loves Memphis each year. This year he served with the Shelby County School Teacher Appreciation project.
David believes it is important for us as the Church to come together and serve our community. "It is through our service that we become the hands and feet of Jesus," he said, "especially when we come together with other churches.
"We are able to show people that, as Christians, we can come together, despite our differences, and work together for the greater cause of Christ."
We may not yet know the long-term effects of this Workday, but we do know that we serve out of obedience, not necessarily for results. We are called to plant seeds; what the harvest will look like is up to God. Thank you to everyone who served this weekend to plant seeds of the Gospel around our city.
Visit bellevue.org/serve-out for more information on how you can continue to Serve Out!