Love in Action Mission Project

"The Holy Spirit calls all Christians to engage in God’s mission of bestowing grace, love, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the world through Jesus Christ. We affirm that believers of all ages, races, genders, and nationalities of all times and places are united in bearing witness to God’s presence in all creation. Holy Scripture proclaims this truth and gives the church its mission mandate (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8). Mission sustains the church in its work of preaching, teaching, serving, transforming, and healing." ~ Our Theology of Mission, United Methodist Global Ministries

On the morning of June 2, Annual Conference members are invited to embody the truth that "It’s All About Love," by putting their love into action. Attendees will don their Love in Action t-shirts and embark on service projects that focus on meeting the expressed needs of under-resourced schools and their students in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) and Heart of America (HOA) and other sites in partnership with BWC’s Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team. 

Some members will stay on site to pack resource bags for 2,000 pre-K to second-grade students in eight elementary schools identified by BCPS. These bags will include school supplies purchased on Amazon by United Methodists, books made possible through a grant that HOA received, and notes of encouragement and bookmarks created by annual conference members.

Other members will head out on buses to nearby elementary schools and other sites to clean up and beautify spaces. Each site has relationships with nearby local churches so the work that we are doing isn’t a one-and-done, but continues building on previous relationships and that will continue far beyond the June 2 project. 

Engaging with the local community, deep listening to impacted people, and being in ministry with, not for, are principles that are taught to VIM team leaders as they prepare for mission journeys and are essential foundations of Missional Action Planning (MAP) as well. 

We hope this time will be a catalyst for our members to return to their local congregations inspired to be All About Love in their neighborhoods through ongoing, mutually transformative relationship building in all directions -- with neighbors, with impacted persons, with one another, with other churches and organizations.  It's all about love.