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ONE OUTSTRETCHED HAND BECOMES VOLUNTEER HOURS DURING OUR HAITI, NASSAU AND WILLINGTON, NC MISSION TRIPS 1,655
Mission at Pinnacle requires many hands and feet. Throughout the year thousands of hours are volunteered by members and friends who care deeply about our local and global community. As we reflect over the last year, we are grateful to all those who gave generously of their time and talent.
In January, a team of seven Pinnacle members and friends traveled to Haiti to minister among our partners at Harmony Ministries. The team spent the week painting classrooms, teaching science and art classes as well as conducting a women’s hygiene class.
In early November we sent a team of nine to participate in a disaster response trip to Willington, NC. The group put finishing touches on a 70-year-old woman’s home in hopes of her returning to her home by Christmas.
Working with Asylum Seeker volunteers, we hosted four events and countless others participated in rallies, educational events, while others donated much needed clothes and personal hygiene items.
Many of our important mission efforts in our Homelessness initiative have continued. 2019 marked the beginning of Pinnacle’s 10th Open Table. Members from our congregation helped serve Thanksgiving Brunch at UMOM carving 40 turkeys. Three times each month members of our community serve on average 600 meals at Andre House.
Last year Pinnacle supported our community donating more than 700 pounds of food to the Vista del Camino. We hosted Create Academy’s first talent show which was a huge success, and our Habitat for Humanity team offered 200 hours of service to build this year's home. One of our main fundraisers for the year was our Alternative Gift Market which raised over $9,000 to benefit all our mission ministries. Thank you for your participation!
One of our major mission projects each year is the annual rummage sale, which takes place in the spring. Well over 100 volunteers, including 30 youth performing community service towards their mission trip, donated more than 1,300 hours collecting, sorting, organizing and selling. In addition, volunteers conducted more than 100 pick-ups of larger items from congregation members. The proceeds from the two-day shoppers’ delight supports the annual youth mission trip. In 2019, over $28,000 was raised.
Following another successful rummage sale, a group of twentynine students and six adults participated in a week-long mission trip to Nassau. The team provided a mini VBS for Hill Crest Academy. The team also served the New Haitian Baptist Church each morning working to clean up their campus, painting church pews, installing a tile floor & painting walls in their classroom and pastoral office.
Our Wild About God summer camp provided an outreach opportunity for our students; preschool - 5th grades and volunteers 6th grade and older in July. The 72 campers and volunteers worked diligently one afternoon making trail mix for local first responders and went to Feed My Starving Children, where we assemble meals for families in remote areas of our world.
Our Children’s Ministry also provided for the local community by collecting backpacks and school supplies for Vista Del Camino during our backpack drive, creating special gifts for our homebound members, and visiting residents at Vi Memory care.
Our Stephen Ministry team welcomed five new members who completed the 40 hours of training. We walked alongside 28 individuals going through a difficult season, and prayed with community after each worship service.
Pinnacle Deacons touch so much of our ministries and are often not seen or heard. We thank them for the tireless volunteer hours coordinating greeters, ushers, cookie bakers and hospitality each Sunday, the monthly communion and homebound communion, hosting eight memorial service receptions, two blood drives, our Christmas Angel tree collected thousands of dollars of gifts, 80 backpacks and school supplies were donated to Vista del Camino and Create Academy students, and we hosted gatherings for our Pinnacle community at the Fall Round-Up, Annual Meeting Brunch, and Sunday Sundae.
