Vanquishing Vandalism: Midland Heights UMC, First United UMC in Arkansas

Midland Heights United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church, both in Fort Smith, Ark., are partnering with their city to help low-income residents overcome graffiti vandalism.

The city requires homeowners to remove graffiti from their property within 10 days or pay the city to do so. Most victims are law-abiding citizens who want to obey the city’s policies, but they aren’t financially or physically able to do so, says Janice Sudbrink, First United Methodist Church’s associate minister.

Now, city officials provide graffiti victims with contact information for the churches. When called, Sudbrink and Becky Neighbors, a Midland Heights member who helped start the ministry, visit a site, take pictures and put together a team that usually eradicates the graffiti within a week.

A small grant from the First United Methodist Foundation and donated materials from local businesses make the ministry possible.

Find more ways to serve your community »

Outreach Magazine
Outreach Magazinehttp://outreachmagazine.com

Outreach magazine publishes ideas, innovations, resources and stories to help church leaders reach their communities and change the world. Founded in January 2003 by church communications company Outreach Inc., Outreach is an award-winning, bimonthly periodical for church leadership and is available by subscription and on Amazon.com. Find out more at outreachmagazine.com

5 Keys for Sharing Your Faith

We do not need to be contentious and argumentative. We can be kind and grace-filled even when we disagree with others and offer them a whole new worldview.

Embrace Church: Real Transformation

The church’s success is a testament to divine grace working through flawed people, Pastor Adam Weber insists. Embrace’s goal-setting process, called “traction,” has also multiplied its congregation.

Collin Outerbridge: Building a Multicultural, Multigenerational Church

There's something about a unifying vision that is greater than our preferences, that is focused on serving our community, that I think has led to a strong sense of connectivity that's allowed our church to grow and to impact people right here where we live.