PUBLISHED THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 1997
Copyright 1997 The Pensacola News Journal. All rights
reserved
Other churches reach out to community
By Kimberly Blair
News Journal staff writer
PENSACOLA - What do other area churches do to directly
help the needy?
Some examples:
Olive Baptist, Pensacola 's largest church with a membership
of 7,726 and an annual budget of $4 million, makes helping the needy of
the community a high priority. The church devotes at least $85,000 a year
to local outreach, and Olive Baptist members repair roofs, clean yards
or paint houses for people who can 't afford it otherwise, said Dave Corson,
church administrator.
Circle Baptist Church in Warrington, one of Pensacola
's smallest churches with a membership of 40 and an annual budget of $39,000,
makes a strong commitment to charity and outreach in its own way: It maintains
a food bank and opens it to anyone in need. If the church can 't help,
it refers people to agencies.
Brownsville Baptist Church, a few blocks from Brownsville
Assembly of God, has a membership of 700 and an annual budget of $288,972.
It spends $7,200 a year on direct local outreach and an additional $4,424
to other area ministries such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
"We have some responsibility to the community but no church
is a cure-all," Pastor John Pavelus said.
Many people in the neighborhood live below or at poverty
level, he said. "I do think Brownsville Assembly of God needs to be a leading
major part in the community, not only physically, but spiritually minister
to the total person. That goes for any church and every church," he said.