A Matthews Church Volunteer Discusses her Involvement and Experiences With Ministry.
Written by Marissa Neale. 15 March 2019, Matthews NC.
First Baptist Church of Matthews offers a variety of different opportunities for volunteer work in the local community.
First Baptist Church’s website reports that it has started some of its own volunteer ministries to help the community and also works with a variety of different outside organizations such as Pregnancy Resource Center and Matthews Elementary School among others. Some charities the church is involved with includes Habitat for Humanity and Franklin Graham’s Operation Christmas Child.
A number of church members contribute to these ministries and even lead volunteer groups to help the community. Susan Ciacci is one of the church members who has taken a number of leadership positions and has participated in church hosted volunteer work.
“There’s nothing quite like volunteering when you know that you’re helping someone,” Ciacci said. “It lifts your spirits it makes your life feel worthwhile like you are accomplishing something, and that you are helping other people… it brings joy into your life.”
Ciacci is involved with a number of ministries through the church currently and has been involved in different church ministries in the past.
Towards the end of the summer Ciacci leads the Matthew’s Alive Ministry Tent by directing 35 church volunteers in the tent’s mission to pass out bibles and bracelets during the annual Matthew’s Alive festival.
She also said she works with a ministry called Feeding the Multitudes in November. This ministry provides coats and other important items for men and women in the community. Ciacci is in charge of the children’s aspect of the ministry and directs around 15 volunteers who entertain the children while their parents receive counseling and items from the ministry.
This is not the only children centered ministry that Ciacci participates in.
As a member of the church she works as an Awana group leader for one of the weekly Awana classes on Sunday nights. In this ministry she teaches a children’s bible study with two other leaders. In addition to this she also volunteers for the church nursery on Wednesday nights and watches children so church members can attend weekly church classes.
“That’s the most rewarding — to work with children I think,” Ciacci said. She explained that she likes these ministries because she gets to interact individually with children and talk to them about Jesus.
There are also some other church ministries that Ciacci used to work with but no longer participates in.
Ciacci used to participate in the church’s annual Vacation Bible School ministry each summer. Vacation Bible School is a week-long day-camp for school-age children to spend time playing games, doing crafts and other activities while simultaneously being exposed to bible lessons.
Every year Vacation Bible School volunteers help lead classes full of children who come from all over the community to learn the basic tenants of the bible in an engaging, child-friendly way.
Ciacci used to lead a group of eight volunteers from her Sunday School class in volunteering for Vacation Bible School.
Despite the fact that Ciacci enjoys ministering to children more personally, she admits that teaching Vacation Bible School can be difficult. Ciacci said that as a volunteer she had to prepare bible lessons and study to be ready for the children in addition to watching them and interacting with them during the week of the day-camp.
She no longer helps with this ministry but other members of the church continue in her place.
“Things have just progressed and moved on,” Ciacci said. “The idea of [Vacation Bible School] was to get more men and women involved so that they would continue to be involved.”
In the past Ciacci has also worked with a program started within the church called Car Care Ministries. First Baptist’s website reports that the ministry targets women who don’t have the financial means to pay for auto repairs. In addition to auto repairs, Ciacci explained that Car Care Ministries also helps women get their cars ready for inspections.
While the cars are being fixed volunteers host a bible study and chat with the women and pray with them. Ciacci used to be in charge of this aspect of the ministry and helped by encouraging women, praying with them and teaching from the bible.
Ciacci has also worked outside the church through volunteering with the American Legion Auxiliary. The American Legion website identifies the group as “the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization.” Ciacci described this organization as a group that fund raises and supports veterans. Ciacci said the group supports them by baking meals and placing flags in cemeteries of veterans on Memorial day among other things. Ciacci is currently an inactive member of the group.
“I pretty much stick to church volunteering,” Ciacci said.
Despite this Ciacci emphasized that there are many opportunities for volunteer work in the community.
“There’s always a place for you if you’re looking and the first place I would look of course would be the church but there’s so many community things going on as well,” Ciacci said. “But there’s always a place you just have to keep your ears and eyes opened and seek it out and if you don’t like one place that you’ve found move on to another because there’s always people in need.”
Mock Tweet: Come read about Susan Ciacci’s involvement in volunteer work through First Baptist Church of Matthews.
