For most people, the sound of hammering and sawing is nothing but a headache-inducing nuisance. But for the 17 home owners in Covington and around Newton County receiving home renovations this week courtesy of the Kingdom Builders youth missions organization, it's the sound of love in action.
Kingdom Builders, a non-profit that organizes service mission trips for teens and provides free repairs to homeowners in need, is in Covington for the first time to work on 17 houses and three community service projects. The seven-day project, hosted by First Baptist Church in Covington, has drawn more than 70 students from across Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida and used the services of approximately 30 volunteers.
Kingdom Builders started in 1999 when four youth ministers, including First Baptist Church Youth Minister Jason Wade, came together to do mission trips in their own communities instead of far-off locations.
As more people found out about the organization and started signing up their youth groups to participate, Kingdom Builders grew into a year-round venture, gaining official non-profit status in 2002 and a full time executive director in 2005.
To date, Kingdom Builders has repaired over 300 homes and buildings and organized more than 20 projects in locations across the United States and the Bahamas.
First Baptist had long wanted to host a mission project in Covington, according to Wade.
"The crazy thing is, they were nervous at first, about hosting, but they were willing to do what God wanted them to do," said Wade.
To find homeowners in need for the Covington project, Wade turned to Covington Councilwoman Hawnethia Williams, who had only a little trouble finding willing applicants.
"People were a little leery at first," said Williams. "Once they realized this was free, and once I was able to show them this was genuine venture, the names just came pouring on in."
Many of the houses chosen belonged to elderly homeowners who could not otherwise perform or afford the repairs themselves.
One of those residents, Pocahontas Reed, 77, a widow and retired Cousins Middle School cafeteria worker, has diabetes and has twice survived cancer. As she sat in her house, in the middle of construction debris and the din of roofing repairs overhead, she beamed.
She said it made her feel good when she found out Kingdom Builders was going to repair her house.
"God bless them," she said.
The difference between Kingdom Builders and an organization like Habitat for Humanity, according to Executive Director Joey Fennell, is that Kingdom Builders repairs existing homes instead of building new ones and the homeowners do not pay for any of the repa irs or materials whereas Habitat for Humanity recipients pay an affordable mortgage.
"We try to go into places that are down and out neglected; the worst of the worst," said Fennell. "People that are choosing between medication, food, and way down on the list of priorities is housing repairs."
While the students pay a fee to cover the cost of food and t-shirts, Kingdom Builders receives its funding primarily through private donation and fundraising. The amount of funds raised determines how many sites it can repair on a given trip or project. For Covington, Kingdom Builders was able raise approximately $11,000, according to Fennell.
Because of its limited funding and ability, not all the homeowners' requests can be covered. Some homeowners expectations of what Kingdom Builders can do might be a little inflated because of shows like "Extreme Home Makeover," according to Wade.
Fennel loves watching the show. "It's what we do all the time, but not to the extreme they do," he said.
"The neat thing about it is, going into a home, even just putting a roof on a house we get the same thing out of changing an entire home," said Fennell.
This week's experience, said Wade, has left the community enthused.
"They're on fire now," he said. "It opened more doors about what our congregation can do and the needs of our community." The relationships that were built over this past week might even be the foundation of more mission projects in Covington, he said.
To find out more information about Kingdom Builders, go to www.kbministries.org, or call 912-489-5252.
The difference between Kingdom Builders and an organization like Habitat for Humanity, according to Executive Director Joey Fennell, is that Kingdom Builders repairs existing homes instead of building new ones and the homeowners do not pay for any of the repairs or materials whereas Habitat for Humanity recipients pay an affordable mortgage.
"We try to go into places that are down and out neglected; the worst of the worst," said Fennell. "People that are choosing between medication, food, and way down on the list of priorities is housing repairs."
While the students pay a fee to cover the cost of food and T-shirts, Kingdom Builders receives its funding primarily through private donation and fundraising. The amount of funds raised determines how many sites it can repair on a given trip or project. For Covington, Kingdom Builders was able raise approximately $11,000, according to Fennell.
Because of its limited funding and ability, not all the homeowners' requests can be covered. Some homeowners expectations of what Kingdom Builders can do might be a little inflated because of shows like "Extreme Home Makeover," according to Wade.
Fennel loves watching the show. "It's what we do all the time, but not to the extreme they do," he said.
"The neat thing about it is, going into a home, even just putting a roof on a house we get the same thing out of changing an entire home," said Fennell.
This week's experience, said Wade, has left the community enthusiastic.
"They're on fire now," he said. "It opened more doors about what our congregation can do and the needs of our community." The relationships that were built over this past week might even be the foundation of more mission projects in Covington, he said.
To find out more information about Kingdom Builders, go to www.kbministries.org, or call 912-489-5252.
