Ministry on the Margins at Living Waters COG in Clover

Clover-Living Waters Church of God is serving their community by engaging and encouraging others through a life-changing journey in Clover, Virginia. Our mission is to nurture a diverse and welcoming community, committed to fearlessly following wherever God is leading us, and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of Clover and the world!

This year has served as one of the most interesting and challenging times the church has faced in its lifetime. Just like others, we had to leave the building at the onset of COVID-19, but this church family was driven to continue to spread God's Word and build on its relationship with the community. We introduced drive-in services to the Clover community, which were just what was needed to begin opening the doors of communication in our area.

We utilized a simple PA system outside & we began to see the attendance grow. People were pulling over on the side of the road & rolling down the windows listening to the Word. People were coming outside of their homes & sitting in their yards to listen to the Word. These actions caught the attention of WSET 13, and they did a story on the church. During this time, even though we were in the beginning of a pandemic, we saw a community touched by a loving God sending comfort to His people through the church.

We were also approached by a church of another denomination to utilize our format and three others asking us to assist them in setting up a communication system to have their own drive-in service.

During this whirlwind of change, we had a member's close friend in the midst of a medical storm. This small loving church got creative and organized a BBQ drive-in lunch fundraiser to help offset the medical bills endured by the family that followed all the CDC and Health Dept. guidelines. We gained the opportunity to help the family in need and used this as an opportunity to spread the Word of God and share the mission of the church.

We organized an Easter drive-through meal and gave out prepackaged Easter eggs for the kids and offered drive-through communion. The citizens around the area became fully aware of our presence in the community.

We knew Mother's Day and Father's Day was a great opportunity to engage our members and help others that attended our respective services. We have a church member who was able to take simple glass blocks and mugs, place our logo on them, and the title of the holiday on them. These were given as a keepsake and, in some cases, as a memorial.

In July, we were in the middle of this new way to minister and felt like there was a need to play a more significant role to many people needing comfort and peace. We decided this was a great time to hold a Homecoming event. After prayer, we were led to hold this event at our local state park. The park's spaced-out location was just right for this, and even though we were socially distanced, there was a sense of closeness. The Homecoming had great food, music, games for the kids, walking on scenic trails, and families taking pictures together. The Holy Spirit showed up, and we were all blessed.

The church wanted to maintain its light in the community by having a fall celebration. This event again led us to be creative to adhere to the CDC guidelines by giving the kids candy with one big candy shoot, hide candy in the hay, & play creative games. This event was just the opportunity needed to provide these children with a safe place to go and get away from their homes and have some fun while being socially distanced.

In November, we provided the necessary items for two meals to two families in our community. During December, Christmas is all about the baby that became the Light of the World, and our kids took center stage and put on a play for our Christmas service. The Christmas story unfolded before our very eyes was a wonderful way to end the year.

Living Waters COG in Clover will continue to serve our community and continue to strive to spread the love of our Savior in 2021.

Submitted by

Devin Snead, Senior Pastor
Clover-Living Waters Church of God