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Story | 360 Church

Closing Doors Led 360 Church to the Primrose Path

360 Church found a lot of needs at the Primrose Center in Orlando, Flordia...

“When we decided to participate in Faith in Action, we prayed about our projects,” said Michelle Brightman, assistant to Pastor Chip Kelly of 360 Church in Orlando, Florida. “But the doors just kept closing, project after project.

“Finally we remembered a couple of ladies who had attended our church earlier, but because of their work at Primrose Center, hadn’t been able to join us lately. We called them and – boy, did they have needs!”

Primrose Center is a ministry of group homes for mentally handicapped adults. The two ladies had brought some of the residents to church for awhile, but then stopped coming. The church discovered the reason was that their van had been broken down for some time, hindering transportation.

Now, 360 Church isn’t a large church; it’s a fledgling body of about 100 attendees. “Pastor Chip doesn’t do this very often – but when he says, ‘This is something I want everyone to do’ – they do it,” Michelle said, explaining their incredible turn-out of 70 workers on Faith in Action Day.

The group showed up en masse at the main facility of Primrose Center where training classes are held and also work is brought in for the residents to perform in order to earn money.

“Weeds were as high as the roof in front,” Michelle recalled. “Money had been donated for the facility, but it all went for more basic needs, not luxuries like landscaping or renovating.”

The small congregation bought greenery, bushes and other low-maintenance plants. They tore out existing weeds and plants, spread mulch and planted the new greenery. They bought and installed wrought iron fences and a bench. Plus, they purchased lawn equipment such as weed trimmers for Primrose Center’s future use.

Members also began renovating another building, preparing it for professional painters by patching and priming walls.

“Primrose staff were overwhelmed. Our main contact was thrilled beyond belief. Staff showed up early and had bottles of waters and home-made cookies for us. Residents also came out to watch and help out as best they could,” Michelle added.

Everyone agreed it was terrific to be doing something with their hands and being able to see a marked improvement in the “after” versus the “before”. “We had such a sense of joy in being able to help someone, and seeing their joy and relief,” she said.

Meanwhile, two families visited the church, closed for the day while teams were working. “Both sets of visitors came back the next week, intrigued and impressed with what we were doing,” Michelle explained. “And one family later joined our church.”

The church is keeping Primrose Center as an ongoing project, but will add other projects on their next Faith in Action Day. A plumber from the church has already been back to deal with plumbing issues; a cosmetologist is busy organizing a day spa for residents. “We’ll continue to reconnect with Primrose to meet their needs, and we also plan to continue days of service on an ongoing basis,” she said.