- November 26, 2024
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Two speakers sat by the side of the road on Hymon Circle in Bunnell on Sunday morning, singing out contemporary Christian music. More than 80 volunteers from Epic Church were strategically scattered between four homes on the curve in the road with paint brushes and rollers in hand.
Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson stopped by on her way to church to give a greeting to the volunteers who were helping to beautify Bunnell, but instead, she went home, changed into work clothes and came back to the site, ready to work alongside the volunteers.
The house painting, which was a partnership with Habitat for Humanity’s Brush with Kindness project, was just one of the many outreaches Epic Church took part in Sunday morning. Named 3G Sunday for “gather,” “go,” “give,” the day offered more than 250 church members a chance to forgo a sermon and go out into the community, instead, to be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving on 12 projects around Flagler County.
“Our heart at Epic is to make a big difference in our county,” said Sarah Jones, one of the leaders at Epic Church. “3G Sunday was a way to do that — to send a message to our community that they matter, they matter to God (and) they matter to us. We just really wanted to bring hope that they matter.”
In addition to painting the four homes in Bunnell, a group of volunteers also worked to raise the walls on a new Habitat home in Seminole Woods.
Another large project was to help at Grace Community Food Pantry. Volunteers aided in the Sunday routine of food distribution that regularly occurs at the pantry’s U.S. 1 location, in addition to serving a hot lunch. Food for the lunch was donated by U.S. Foods, Woody’s Bar-B-Q and Cable Connections.
During the church’s September food drive, it collected 2,856 pounds of food, which was donated to Grace Community. Sunday volunteers were also able to sort through those 120 bags and prepare them for future distribution.
Other projects 3G volunteers helped with on Sunday morning were a beach cleanup with Friends of A1A at both the Flagler Beach Pier and Varn Park, cleaning buses at Imagine School at Town Center, sorting clothing at Alpha Pregnancy Center, repairs at a home in Daytona North, and an outreach at Windsor of Palm Coast assisted living facility.
But bringing hope is not just a one-time event. This coming Sunday, Epic will celebrate the outreach efforts, but it will also challenge its members to sign up for ongoing service opportunities.
“We don’t want to just do church; we want to be the church, for each other and for our community,” said the Rev. Trent Schake. “That’s what we are trying to learn how to do. It’s bigger than just coming to church, checking off the boxes, leaving and then not helping to serve people outside of those four walls. A hallmark of being a follower is that we serve other people constantly. It’s a lifestyle thing.”
