CBFNC’s new Welcome House Community Network (WHCN) has a bold vision to establish new Welcome House ministries in every city and town across North Carolina. The goal is to replicate and expand the existing Welcome House-Raleigh model that provides temporary housing and support services for immigrants and refugees in the Triangle region.
WHCN seeks to provide temporary housing to vulnerable neighbors throughout NC to meet a variety of needs—from refugees to the homeless to victims of abuse and more. The idea is for churches throughout the state to identify the vulnerable in their communities and in partnership with CBFNC and WHCN, create a Welcome House ministry to serve those neighbors in need. Welcome Ride 2020 is the first fundraiser for this new mission. Funds raised through this campaign will be used to provide ministry grants to help establish the new Welcome Houses.
In this example below from CBF Field Personnel Anna Anderson and her husband LaCount, the Conetone Family Life Center is seeking to establish a new Welcome House in poverty-stricken Conetone, NC.
In 2018, the Conetoe Family Life Center received a donation of a double wide mobile home. The home was donated by a business that had used it for an office and they gave it to the Family Life Center for use at the 27-acre farm that we call the “Garden.”
The Garden has been in operation for several years providing produce for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes as well as donations of food to the community, offering a good nutritional option for the people Conetoe—a “food desert” as classified by the U.S. government. This garden food ministry was begun to help with the problem of premature deaths due to poor nutrition of the residents because of lack of access to healthy foods.
In 2019, a mission team from First Baptist Church in Kingston, Tennessee helped us begin renovating the unit. The group installed new siding and a roof in July of that year. We are now beginning the process of interior renovation and are grateful for a 2020 grant from Westwood Baptist Church-Cary to assist with the interior renovation. These two churches will be working to complete this phase of the project along with others who may want to join the effort.
As we have been considering the use of the building, Rev. Richard Joyner, founder of Conetoe Family Life Center, and Mrs. Helen Collins, executive director of Conetoe Family Life Center, have joined with Revs. LaCount and Anna Anderson with the idea of the unit becoming a part of the Welcome House Community Network. The plan is for a family connected to the garden effort to have suitable housing as they help us with our ongoing production of produce for the community.
First things First
Before anything else is done we must deal with providing accessible water and sewage. Through a grant from Together For Hope, First Baptist in Griffin, Georgia and Lakeside Baptist-Rocky Mount, we are in the process of running a waterline from the main highway, down the driveway at the Garden, to the home site.
Secondly, we are in the process of securing a septic tank and septic field of which we do not have adequate funding. This is the next step in our process that needs to be completed. Please consider a gift to support the Welcome Ride fundraiser to help us complete this all-important step to the renovation process so that we may establish the Welcome House-Conetoe.
Give online HERE or mail a check to CBFNC, 2640 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.
Learn more about Welcome Ride 2020 and the Welcome House Community Network HERE.
