Church building its own field of dreams

By: By George Hatmaker | New Era Progress
Published: July 19, 2008

Mead Memorial United Methodist Church has broken ground on a new ballfield.

But it’s more than just a ballfield, and it’s more than just for one church. It’s for the community.

When it’s done, the ballfield will be open to the community for little league games. (We’re already talking with the Dixie Youth Softball Association in case they’d like to use it.) And it will be open to the city and county recreation departments, if they want to use it. It will be open to community groups, if they want to use it.

And it will be offered for use free of charge depending on availability.

That said, this has been a major undertaking for our small community church, located on U.S. 29 south at the intersection of Wards Road and English Tavern Road.

When I became Mead Memorial’s pastor in 2003 and saw the 16 acres around our church, it took me back to my youth. I had the privilege of growing up playing in church leagues (fast pitch and slow pitch softball), and would like to see teams from all over playing on a field here.

It would dovetail with my vision of Mead Memorial becoming a community outreach and resource center.

But the estimated cost to build a ballfield was $60,000 to $70,000 — more than the church budget we had at the time.

Thanks to help from volunteers and businesses, not to mention our growing church, the ballfield is becoming a reality.

Appreciation goes to volunteers Luke Shoemaker, Richard Ditmars, Ronald Kienholz, H. R. Terrell, Allan Silver, Kenney Ezzell, Robbie Williams, Jim Curtis, Donnie and Joyce Giles, Jeremy and Ashley Brooks, Bryan, Elizabeth, and Isaac Burton, Charlie Bear, Warren Croft and others.

And thanks go to a number of local businesses, such as Virginia Tractor and Equipment, Counts and Dobyns, Sterling Oil Co., Watts Petroleum, Candler Oil, Commonwealth Oil, and Pearson Equipment. This would not be possible without their support. (We would get invoices from companies that had provided a service and the invoice would say, “No charge.”)

The church, which once faced the possibility of closing, has been enjoying a growth in membership. It’s not my genius as a leader; rather it stems, in part, from the growth of the area in which we’re situated.

Plus, I believe people are searching for something. If you reach out to them, it can make all the difference.

With work on the ballfield under way, another vision for the church is to create a “park” next to the church in a wooded lot, with picnic tables and grills. It would be a place where families could come on weekends and cook out or a place for community gatherings.

That vision appears headed for reality, too. Volunteers from the church have already begun clearing the wooded area. It is starting to take shape.

Anyone interested in partnering with the church and taking part in making this all a reality, please call (434) 821-7623.