Ministry on the Margins At Marble Hill

The Journey

Our ministry journey at the Marble Hill Church of God began on May 20, 2018. With this being my first pastorate, a small rural church presented its challenges. However, God has shown Himself to be faithful and has blessed this congregation in many ways. I’m very thankful for the ministry partnerships and relationships we have formed. When we first came to the church, one of the biggest challenges we faced was people didn’t realize we were there. So, we set out to make our presence known to our community.

VBS

One of our first things we did was put on a Vacation Bible School, which turned out very well. For a church that only has 1 child (ours), we were able to minister to 8 children and 5 different families. Vacation Bible School is something we do yearly, and it has grown every year. The year 2020 was a very different year because of COVID-19, but we persevered. God remained faithful and still blessed us during that difficult time.

Back-2-School Ministry

In 2019, we launched Back2School to aid the families and students of Prince Edward and Charlotte Counties. It was a blessing to sit back and watch God bless Back2School. When we decided to do Back2School we took a step of faith and committed to serve 100+ students. When I announced to the church our number we wanted to serve, you could verbally hear the disbelief. When the first registration date came, we signed up 84 students and when I told the congregation what the number was, you could see their faith rise.

This year’s students will register in July and the event will be held on August 7th at Marble Hill COG with volunteers and donations from the joint effort of all the churches. Students will be brought into the sanctuary in small groups to hear a short story about a missionary giving shoes to a young boy in Nigeria. Afterwards, they will be led to the fellowship hall where they are greeted by a smiling face. Volunteers talk with each child individually, wash their feet, new socks and a pair of new shoes are put on their feet. Volunteers pray over every child. A meal will also be given to each child.

In 2019, we served 161 students at a cost of $3,000 and in 2020 during a pandemic, we still served 67 students. It looked very different, but God still blessed. This year we are looking to serve 100+ at a cost of $2,000 plus. Money is raised through donations, offerings, and various fund-raising projects held throughout the year.

God has proven Himself abundantly faithful thus far and we believe He will continue to do so! Another wonderful testimony of the Back2School ministry is, it is truly a Kingdom ministry. Our first year the volunteers consisted of 6 different churches. Year-two 12 different churches were represented.

My wife and I are blessed to be the Pastors of Marble Hill. We have watched firsthand how God can bless when you are obedient. We look forward to the years ahead.

Stephen Shupe, Senior Pastor
Marble Hill Church of God