First Baptist Church of Ellijay helps town with Love Ellijay event

Efforts impact local organizations

  • Kids from First Baptist Church of Ellijay make cookies and thank you cards for Gilmer first responders. Shown from left are Addy Hayes, Luke Hayes and Chandler Garrett.
    Kids from First Baptist Church of Ellijay make cookies and thank you cards for Gilmer first responders. Shown from left are Addy Hayes, Luke Hayes and Chandler Garrett.

    Eighty-two First Baptist Church of Ellijay (FBCE) members helped community organizations as part of their Love Ellijay event.

    “It’s a great way to serve and meet a need that places can’t get to in their day-to-day work,” elder Del Land said.

    For the last several years, the church has set apart a Saturday in April where members can help local organizations and individuals in need.

    Figuring out what local organizations need and how best to give it requires careful planning starting in January or February, Land said. 

    The organizations helped by this event include the county’s Christian Learning Centers, the City of Ellijay, Roots Thrift Store, Alpha Y Omega, The Oaks Assisted Living, Camp Highland, the Gilmer Fire Department, the Elsie Gillam Home, New Beginnings, the local Housing Authority, the Safe Choice Pregnancy Care Center and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. The GCSO received fresh-baked cookies for its deputies to enjoy.

    “Your kindness reached our 911 Dispatchers, Uniform Patrol and CID detectives and deputies, and it did not go unnoticed,” the GCSO wrote in a press release.

    Often, certain tasks start to catch up for small organizations. A local nonprofit can be so busy that tasks like cleaning up garbage, tidying up a garden or painting can fall by the wayside.

    “Sometimes folks need a little help,” Land said. “They just don’t have time. So we go out and do that.”

    The event can lead church members in surprising directions.

    “Projects range from baking, cooking, planting flowers, making cards, taking out walls, spreading mulch, painting, plumbing… You name it, we’ve likely done it,” the Rev. Josh Moyers said.

    The yearly event can be a big boost to the organizations it benefits.

    It also brings the church closer together, Land said. Hours of working on a project together is a great way to get to know each other and build camaraderie.

    Helping others can feel like a blessing too.

    “You come away with a feeling like you got more out of it than the place that you were,” Land said.