Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Church 'left the building' to help those in need

More than 5,440 members and volunteers of North Coast Church said they were “leaving the building” on April 28 and 29 for a weekend of community service. They weren’t kidding. Dispatched to 92 service projects at 54 sites throughout six communities in North San Diego County, this dynamic group of Christians showed just what volunteerism can do.

“We had well over 500 volunteers working on Fallbrook projects,” said Larry Van Laar, pastor of North Coast’s Fallbrook campus. “This is the largest single weekend event we have ever done, but it pales in comparison to what we do throughout the year.” The balance of the volunteers was spread amongst projects in Carlsbad, Escondido, San Marcos, Oceanside and Vista.

The selected projects were nominated by members of the community after seeing advertisements the church ran in the Fallbrook/Bonsall Village News and other media.

“Forty-seven projects were nominated and we were able to accept seven in Fallbrook,” Van Laar said. One of the seven projects was a significant renovation and enhancement of the REINS Therapeutic Horsemanship Program facility on South Mission Road.

At REINS, the North Coast Church volunteers painted the entire exterior of one of the caretaker’s homes, rebuilt the inside of one building, installed a new ceiling and constructed a new bathroom area with vanity and shower.

“We also rebuilt a tack shed, rebuilt a shade cover for horses and repainted and replaced fencing for all the corrals,” Van Laar confirmed. “We planted thousands of plants and did other landscaping work, redid irrigation, removed trees, installed new topsoil and rock surfaces and removed trash.”

“[The REINS director] was absolutely blown away and almost in tears,” Van Laar said. “We were providing stuff they would have never been able to accomplish. If someone were to pay for everything we did there, it would have come to about $80,000. With all help and donations, we did it for about $3,500.”

Other projects included four mini home makeovers – one was for a military family, one for a volunteer fireman, one for a single mom and the last one for a community volunteer. In addition, the group performed numerous tasks at the Mentoring Associates facility on Alturas Road and the Fallbrook Food Pantry on South Mission Road. They also offered a car wash and barbecue near Fallbrook High School that provided free car washes, hot dogs and hamburgers to some 200 people.

While North Coast’s weekend of service was a phenomenal effort, as Van Laar indicated, this church has a consistent history of serving.

“Throughout the year we do renovation and landscaping projects at local public schools, community centers and homeless shelters,” he said. “We have 12 ‘growth groups’ in Fallbrook and each group is required to do at least one service project each quarter throughout the year; that’s 36 projects a year. We let them dive in where their hearts lead them.”

The size and scope of the seven projects performed in Fallbrook on one weekend alone was daunting, but these volunteers came through in a big way.

“We got everything accomplished that we set out to do, and then some,” said Van Laar. “Not only did people show up to work but many went out, bought stuff that was needed and installed it. People were out there to serve their Lord, not just do a good deed.”

“We are excited that as a body of believers, young and old alike, we can make a huge impact on our community,” said Casey Yorman, community service pastor. “[We want] the community and our entire congregation to understand that serving in God’s name is an important part of what it means to worship God. We also think it’s the most powerful way to teach our congregation that worship is not just about gathering together to sing songs and study the Bible.”

Fallbrook sponsors for the projects included Pine Tree Lumber, Grangetto’s Farm & Garden Supply, Fallbrook Equipment Rental, Joe’s Hardware, Nixon Electric, Dunn-Edwards Paint, Davey Tree Service, EDCO/Waste Management and Arc Technologies.

Editor’s Note: The Fallbrook branch of North Coast Church meets every Sunday at the Bob Burton Performing Arts Center on the Fallbrook High School campus.

 

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