Pastor Michael Harrison has found new ways to reach people where they are, whether with food, school supplies or words of encouragement.
This summer, Harrison led an outreach effort in Collinsville using a mobile grill designed to cook food from the back of a moving vehicle. With the help of about 28 volunteers, the group served roughly 300 hamburgers across five neighborhoods.
“It’s a grill on the back of a vehicle that has been manufactured so that you could cook on the back of a vehicle as it slowly moves down the road and goes door to door,” said Harrison, who is lead pastor at The Community Fellowship. “And so as we did that, we said, hey, you want a hamburger? And everybody eats. Of course.”
The idea came from Forgotten Ministries, a group based in Enid, Oklahoma. Harrison said the outreach is meant to spark connection through simple, personal conversation.
“Hey, how can we pray for you?” he said. “And then just start conversations, just very, very simple.”
Harrison first saw the concept during a Serve Tour organized by his mission agency. “We saw it in West Virginia a couple of years ago, and then we saw it in Virginia Beach earlier this year,” he said. “Some friends at Fort Trial Baptist Church have the grill, and they allowed us to use it.”
While the mobile grill was new this summer, Harrison is no stranger to organizing large-scale outreach. He also leads the annual back-to-school event, that just marked its 19th year.
“We’ve served over 42,000 kids with new backpacks, school supplies, new shoes and socks,” Harrison said. “We wash all their feet.”
Some locations also provide clothing and haircuts. Harrison said the need continues to grow.
“Especially right now with the economic crisis—we’re seeing even more needs, because the price of things is going up,” he said. “The price of what they’re getting from us is going up too, so we’re having to raise more money.”
This year’s “Pack the Bus” school supply drive will be held at Walmart on July 18, 19 and 20. The donations helped stock the August 2 distribution event.
For Harrison, the back-to-school effort is about more than supplies.
“We want them to be encouraged to live life, you know, and we’re gonna tell them all about Jesus,” he said. “We want them to be successful in what they endeavor. Whether it’s a preschooler or a 12th grader—it’s an opportunity for us to speak into their lives and their family’s life.”
The outreach also fills a gap in Martinsville, where schools do not provide at-home supplies.
“If you look at what’s in the bag—this item’s 50 cents, this one’s a dollar fifty—it adds up,” Harrison said. “They’re going to get more than $100 worth of stuff when they walk out our doors.”
