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Our Ministries
our mission to our
community
-main campus ministry:
The building we use on our main campus is a residential structure built
in 1985. This picture was taken around 1999 as we were 1st getting
started. The main entry is at the upper level on the left end of
the building. Our main worship space now takes up most of the
upper level. The lower level is kitchen/fellowship/meeting area and a
small classroom that is often used for overflow storage. There is a
single garage on the back side that is used for storage for yard and
garden tools and as a staging area for supplying the clothes closet
trailer which is in the back yard.
One of our most active ministries on our
main campus is the clothing closet. In a donated 40' transport trailer
that has been customized over the years by various mission teams from
1st Baptist Church, Murfreesboro and 1st Baptist Church, Chattanooga we
keep a great assortment of clothing for adults and children. The
trailer is open to the neighborhood public 24 hours a day.
Although it occasionally gets 'trashed' and there is a certain amount of
abuse that occurs regularly in a few people taking more than they need,
we have been committed to an open door policy for our community.
The clothing and household items that are available come from many
churches and individuals across the state of Tennessee. More and
more we are also finding that the families that come for help are
leaving trade-ins . . . clothing that their children have
outgrown. We have had the assistance of many mission teams in sorting
and organizing and conducting give away days. Two women from Fairfield
Glade Baptist Church in Cumberland Co. spend many hours every week
keeping things in good order, being a great help to the members of our
congregation who regularly invest their time in this ministry. The
trailer got an exterior 'face-lift' from the 2009 Summer Mission team
from 1st Baptist Church, Chattanooga.
Outdoors, special event ministries are an important part of sharing the
Kingdom at NCC. The prototype outdoor stage and a natural slope
amphitheater (photo on left) was in use for 8 years. We had regular music and drama events outside for
our community. This stage was dismantled in the fall of 2008 by a
construction crew from 1st Baptist Church, Alcoa and replaced by a new
one at the campfire church site (photo on right) by a construction crew
of 1st Baptist Church, Chattanooga. The photo shows the 2009 VBS
set being set up.
We look forward to using the expanded stage and seating
facilities for an even greater emphasis on outdoor music and drama
presentations of the gospel and other evangelistic efforts as a ‘Church
Without Walls.’
We have begun to develop other outdoor facilities on our main campus to
provide recreational opportunities for our community. A walking track is
now being developed. The regulation
sand volleyball court was our major 2004 project. Through the
extravagant generosity of some in our community, this $ 10,000+ project
is almost complete at about $ 5,200. We look forward to expanding our
recreational facilities. There have been regular and frequent requests
for a portion of our parking lot to be paved for community basketball.
In many neighborhoods, the children play basketball on the road, to the
distress of those driving on the same roads. We also have hopes to
develop regulation horseshoe pits and are open to developing whatever
facilities that will serve our extended community and give us
opportunity to present Christ and His demands to our neighbors.
The monthly mobile dental
clinic for children was part of our main campus ministries for several
years. We're open to similar type possibilities in the future.
Our dreams include literacy classes, an after
school and summer program for children, expanded social services (with a
social worker regularly on site), regular health care clinics, a soup
kitchen/homebound meal ministry, co-op food store, and parenting
classes.
During warm weather we conduct what we call ‘Camp-fire Church’. Another way in which we present
a ‘Church Without Walls’ setting for preaching, evangelism, worship and
fellowship. We often find that when we meet in this setting we have
visitors from the community that would not likely be seen inside a
church house. (last updated
2/16/10) |
