Every summer, Bellevue members go out and help meet needs across the city in a week-long missions project. This past week during Mission Memphis, our church stepped outside the walls of Bellevue and into the neighborhoods of our city—to serve, to share, and to shine the light of Christ.
Each Mission Memphis project related to one part of Bellevue’s local missions strategy: Cordova, compassion, and churches. From partnering with local congregations like Miracle of Redemption Baptist Church and Binghampton Community Church to hosting block parties for the Dexter community, Bellevue’s goal is simple—meet tangible needs to share eternal hope.
“Memphis is a very broken and hurting place,” Missions Ministerial Assistant Paxton Harwell said. “With the resources we have, we need to go serve well. We want our church members to know there are other churches in Memphis and that some are serving in areas that desperately need the Gospel. We want to come alongside them—not as competitors, but as co-laborers.”
Cordova
It can be easy to turn away from Bellevue and focus on the projects happening farther away from our church building, but Mission Memphis isn’t just about serving “out there.” It’s also about turning our attention to what’s right in front of us.
“It would be tragic if we focused on Memphis as a whole and missed the very part of Memphis that we’re in,” Paxton said. “If we go to the neighborhood over but miss our neighbor, we’re doing it wrong.”
Projects like the School Supplies Giveaway at Dexter K–8 and Kate Bond Elementary, Vacation Bible Schools in local apartment complexes, and even evangelism at Shelby Farms Park are all designed to reach the community directly around Bellevue.
That shift in perspective was key for Paxton. “When I walk to Kroger or go play disc golf at Shelby Farms, there are lost people all around me. Missions isn’t just international going—it’s local going, too. We need to care for the Dexter community, and we need to care for the Cordova community that we’re in.”
Compassion
The second part of Bellevue’s local missions strategy, compassion, allows us to focus on how we can show up for the vulnerable and hurting people in our city and how our hearts are moved into action by another person’s suffering.
“There’s so much brokenness,” Paxton said. “I’ve gotten to see a lot of that this summer, traveling to different ministry partners and hearing different testimonies and stories, but empowered through the Spirit, there’s so much we can do about it.”
That brokenness looks like single mothers facing crisis pregnancies, foster families navigating overwhelming days, individuals battling addiction, children growing up without stable homes, and people living without access to reliable transportation. It’s the homeless, the hungry, and the hurting. With ministry partnerships like the Memphis Morning Center, Midsouth Hope Garage, and Bellevue’s orphan care ministry, compassion ministry shows our personal response to those who are in desperate need.
Churches
Lastly, the third pillar of our strategy, churches, is all about partnership with fellow believers. Mission Memphis isn’t something Bellevue does alone. Whether we were serving The Dwelling Place Christian Church or praying alongside other local pastors, Mission Memphis was a picture of the Body of Christ working together to glorify God and reach our city.
“We serve alongside them, and we learn from them,” Paxton said. “Honestly, there are churches in worse parts of town than Bellevue, and so how do we partner with them, and how do we equip our members to get outside the walls of Bellevue and see that?”
Because being equipped is not only about showing up but also having a heart geared toward building up others and strengthening the Church.
“If you look at Ephesians 4, it talks about the Body building the Body,” Paxton said. “That’s what we’re doing—the church building the church.”
Always on Mission
As Mission Memphis ends, volunteers may not see the fruit of their efforts right away—but they planted, watered, and prayed bold prayers, and that work wasn’t wasted.
In a culture that values quick results, the work of missions requires steadfastness and intention. It’s the long obedience of disciples who are being discipled—equipped not just for a single day of serving their community, but for a lifetime of faithfulness wherever God calls them.
“Missions isn’t just something that we partake in. It’s part of who we are as Christians,” Paxton said. “We are sacrificing ourselves every day to build up God’s kingdom.”
Mission Memphis serves as a reminder that the Gospel starts here at home—and that when the Church rises up to meet needs with boldness, compassion, and the truth of Jesus, lives can be changed.
Now the question is: How will you keep serving Cordova, churches, and the vulnerable after this week is over?
Go to bellevue.org/pathways to learn how you can continue living on mission!