Fifteen years ago, my husband and I were on ministry staff at a small church in Northwest Arkansas. In 2001, the pastor had an idea to impact an impoverished community by hosting a ‘Back to School Block Party’ on the church’s property. Of course, my husband and I helped coordinate the event and it was wonderful to see it come to fruition. Many kids were blessed with haircuts, backpacks and school supplies. More than that, they realized someone cared about them and was willing to do something for them. I didn’t know it then, but that seed of giving back to a community and making a difference was planted in my heart.
Fast forward to 2009…my husband and I moved to Kosciusko, Mississippi which was his hometown. We planted a church and a teen mentoring nonprofit organization. Both were part of the larger vision we had to give back to a community and help others. The seed that was planted in my heart eight years earlier, started to break through the cobwebs of time and we decided it was time to do a ‘Back 2 School Bash’ in Kosciusko.
As we prepare for our 9th one, in which we’ll give away over 350 backpacks with school supplies to a community of 8,000 people, I am humbled that God would continue to honor His word that something as small as a Back 2 School Bash could mean so much to so many people and that I would get to play a small part in it. God has been faithful over the years as we started with a handful of church members who provided 50 backpacks with school supplies from our own offerings and donations to an event that reaches over 700 people with sponsorships from fortune 500 companies.
I’ve learned to never underestimate the power of a seed. That seed becomes even more powerful when it’s planted in good soil (the right person) with the right conditions (someone willing to cultivate the vision). Seeds have the power to change people, communities and the world if we only cultivate them. What seeds are you holding on to that could change the world?
~Coletta Jones Patterson
TheWRITEaddiction.com 
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