BRYANT, Ark. – On National Good Neighbor Day, Sept. 28, more than 90 volunteers dispersed throughout Bryant to spread kindness and make a positive impact in their community.
FamilyLife Arkansas Project Specialist Margie Thompson, an organizer of the event, said they had 91 volunteers serving at seven project sites. They estimate they blessed more than 500 people through their service projects.
“The day went extremely well. All our project coordinators gave glowing reports of the work that the volunteers provided and said that the volunteers were fantastic to work with,” Thompson said. “Volunteers reported that they enjoyed serving alongside people from other churches and places in our community. All appeared to have a fulfilling experience.”
Volunteers were from Crosspointe Church in Bryant, Breath of Life Church in Bryant, First Southern Baptist Church of Bryant, and the City of Bryant.
According to Thompson, this year was a test pilot for the event. They purposefully limited the scope of projects, and the churches involved to lay a solid foundation for growth. They hope to have more churches in the city of Bryant involved in the future.
Thompson said the idea of Bless Bryant was birthed out of a random lunch conversation between Pastor Ryan Ingold of Crosspointe Church and City of Bryant Mayor Chris Treat in April 2024. Ingold shared with Treat about how Crosspointe Church, along with Breath of Life Church, have celebrated National Good Neighbor Day for the previous three years and they were starting to think about what to do to celebrate it again in the fall of 2024. The mayor was enthusiastic about National Good Neighbor Day and before lunch was over, Thompson said they created the idea of a serve day called Bless Bryant where local churches would be mobilized to serve their neighbors.
Thompson, who serves FamilyLife Arkansas along with her colleague Tonya Devine, both of whom are members at Crosspointe Church, and Ingold have initiated the three previous National Good Neighbor Day celebrations at Crosspointe Church.
Ingold brought the idea of Bless Bryant to Thompson and Devine, and they were thrilled with the idea as well.
“With a lot of prayer … we launched into it and really felt like we were following God’s leading the entire time,” Thompson said.
As part of this initiative, Thompson said they provided the churches a 28-day prayer calendar and other resources to help them grow in loving their neighbors.
