By J.A. Buchholz

TALLAHASSEE — Jordan Perry couldn’t think of a better way to spend her Saturday than bagging red and white potatoes at Pisgah United Methodist Church here.

Perry, 14, was one of more than 236 youth from several United Methodist churches in the Tallahassee District who bagged anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 pounds of potatoes Nov. 8 at the church for food banks, homeless shelters and non-profit agencies in and around the area.

“It was fun, and it was meaningful,” Perry, a member of Tallahassee’s Trinity United Methodist Church, said. “It was fun because I enjoyed being with the people from different youth groups and meaningful because I knew I was helping people a lot less fortunate than I am.”

That’s exactly the kind of spirit the Rev. Susan Habib wanted to foster by organizing the 2003 Rock ’N Crop youth missions event. She said she is focused on working in the mission field and making God’s love real for thousands of people who don’t know Jesus Christ.

Habib is the pastor of Pisgah United Methodist Church, nearly 175 years old based on its charter date. It was established in 1821 and chartered in 1830.

“I think every Methodist church needs to have its heart defined, and our heart is a mission’s heart,” Habib said. “In the book of Matthew it talks of doing ‘for the least of these,’ and the church has the responsibility of carrying out the mandate of the gospel.”

Pisgah United Methodist Church made an attempt to fulfill its interpretation of caring for those in need by organizing the youth missions day. Youth praise bands also performed throughout the day in an outside chapel on the 29-acre property.

“I thought it was a great first-time event,” said Sheri Koyles, director of youth ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church here. “We had a good praise band and fellowship and food. We even had a Catholic Church to show up and a group from a local National Honor Society who needed to earn community service hours. I hope we do it again.”

The event was designed with the purpose of serving the community, as well as introducing youth members to helping those in need, according to Habib. She said the core of the church’s mission statement is being in mission to the community.

Part of the mission statement reads, ‘We at Pisgah, through the understanding and demonstration of our core values, will willingly step out to meet the unchurched in our community where they are. We will build the future based on our solid foundation. We will develop worship services, active prayer ministries, health and welfare programs, and nurturing ministries for all ages that will attract people to embrace the word of Christ.’

Habib said she thought other churches would want to participate in the event and feeding those in need just weeks from Thanksgiving. She also wanted other churches to see how the Pisgah church has been transformed since it turned its focus outward to the community.

“When I came here, membership was dwindling,” she said. “In the past month and half I have taken in 22 new members. I think that’s because we are looking outside ourselves and not introspective.”

Ryan Lewis, director of youth and young adult ministries at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church here, said he wanted the youth at his church to be involved because of the focus of reaching outside the walls of the church. He said youth members assisted in rebuilding houses in North Carolina after Hurricane Floyd and feeding the homeless.