GREENWOOD, S.C. – Members of St. Mark United Methodist Church visit and play games with residents of Wesley Commons retirement home during the church's recent "Community Care Day." (South Carolina Advocate Photo)
South Carolina Advocate | June 2, 2026
GREENWOOD, S.C. — A random weekday dog-walk epiphany prompted a new ministry effort in Greenwood, and its impact is reverberating in big ways.
The Rev. Jason Wilson is used to good ideas when he walks his dogs. After all, it’s his designated time to reflect, think and talk with God.
But one morning, he couldn’t stop thinking about the way he and his associate pastor, the Rev. Robby Lybrand, end their benediction at St. Mark United Methodist Church: “It’s time for the church to leave the building.”
“I was just thinking, ‘Lord, what can we do to try to reach out more into the community?’” Wilson told the South Carolina Advocate. “We say that every Sunday, but how intentional are we? What would it look like to gather on a Sunday, have an abbreviated worship, then go out and serve in various capacities?”
Inspired, Wilson called Casey Tompkins, St. Mark’s Growth Committee chair. Immediately, she caught his enthusiasm and got to work, rallying members to organize what they hope will be the first of many Community Care Days.
The idea was simple: Gather adults and kids from both the church and the community for a day of service designed to show compassion and care for their neighbors. They held it April 12, the Sunday after Easter, intentionally.
“The Sunday after Easter is typically a ‘low day,’ and we didn’t want it to feel like a low day,” Wilson explained. “We wanted to continue that Easter cheer and joy and do it all through service.”
Tompkins and a team gathered ideas from the congregation and landed on a variety of mission opportunities. One group put together 53 hygiene kits to give out to homeless people, collecting items for a month prior. The bags were filled with toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks and more, plus they assembled 54 “grab bags” of leftover items, which they put in their blessing boxes.
Another team put up two new church blessing boxes in addition to the one already onsite. They sorted canned goods and made sure the boxes were stocked.
Another group cleaned up four yards and hauled off debris, while another brought communion to people who couldn’t come to church to receive it.
A group went to a local retirement home, Wesley Commons, and played bingo with residents. Others wrote encouraging notes and prayer cards that were inserted into the hygiene kits and blessing boxes. And some of the church children painted 32 flower pots, which were sent to retirement home residents.
“It was fun,” Tompkins said. “We were able to go out and do worship in action, and I was super excited to be part of it.”
She said she volunteered on the blessings box team, and as she was leaving, she had the opportunity to witness a man drive up in a truck, get out, and take a few of the donated items.
“Just to be able to see it used was like, aw, yay!” Tompkins said, noting it inspired her to do more in the future.
Wilson said it was great to be able to see his congregation come together and serve God as one body.
“This is part of the work we’re called to do—not just tell people about Jesus but also about serving, and service can look like a variety of things.”
He said he’s gotten much positive feedback about the Community Care Day, with many people urging the church to do it again.
Jessica Brodie
Jessica Brodie is editor of the South Carolina Advocate, the news journal of the South Carolina Annual Conference, from which this article is republished with permission.