HillSpring Church holds community Serve Day across Sand Springs

HillSpring Church invaded Sand Springs Saturday morning, undertaking dozens of projects to show the love of Christ for the community.

On their annual summer “Serve Day” more than a hundred volunteers in Sand Springs joined with hundreds of churches across the nation to make an impact both physically and spiritually.

“We’re doing this so we can make a difference,” said Lead Pastor Brent Kellogg. “To show the love of Christ and show the power impact of the church.”

At the Sand Springs Care Closet volunteers helped Katie Acuna sort clothing in preparation for an upcoming outreach. On August 6 & 7 the Care Closet will partner with Clary Sage College to provide children with free haircuts and a free outfit to start the school year. The organization opened last July and offers free diapers, formula, toys, clothes, and more at 3417 South 113th West Avenue.

Helping schools was a big part of the day. Volunteers painted at Lake Country Christian, Angus Valley, and Limestone Elementary schools. At Lake Country they also repaired appliances like sinks. At Pratt Elementary they mowed the lawn and worked in the flower beds.

Kellogg led a team at American Legion Post 17 painting the exterior, replacing old caulking, and serving the community’s veterans. HillSpring volunteers have plans for additional work at the Legion in the near future. 

Workers cleaned up and organized storage rooms at the Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum and Sand Springs Community Services. At SSCS they cleaned out the basement and sorted through food and clothing donations. 

"Folks from the Sand Springs area are connecting with the agency in a way that allows for us to better utilize the donations and the items that we have," said SSCS Director Nathan Woodmansee. "It really is meaningful to us. We really appreciate the work they're doing, it's going to help us serve our clients better."

Just down the road from the those two teams was a group including Vice Mayor Phil Nollan and State Representative Jadine Nollan. The crew completely moved the Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce from their old location to a new facility around the corner. 

At the Salvation Army campus workers cleared hundreds of yards of brush along their back fenceline. They also picked up trash in downtown, cleaned up overgrown areas obstructing City traffic signs, did home and lawn improvement for the elderly, and painted the front gate at the Keystone Ancient Forest.

One group constructed a raised wooden walking path at Hamalot Pot Bellied Pig Rescue to keep the organization volunteers from having to walk in the mud and risk getting knocked down by the pigs at feeding time.

Another team spent the day making blankets for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Associate Pastor Matt Barnett said that they had around 130 volunteers, up from 100 the year before. He hopes to see HillSpring team up with other churches for a city-wide service day in the future. 

HillSpring meets at 8801 West 41st Street on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. They can be found online at http://www.hillspring.tv/