Pastor Collin Outerbridge felt it as he scrolled through his Facebook feed. That nagging feeling of helplessness that comes with seeing so many people pointing fingers at others for the problems in the United States.  

Outerbridge, the pastor at Nona Church, was chewing on this for a couple of weeks back when he walked into a staff meeting and said, “What if we could be part of the solution? What if we challenged everyone in our church to give $40?”

“Let’s do it!” they replied.

They took it to the church congregation, explaining that alone, it’s hard to make a difference, but collectively, they could be a huge blessing to the Lake Nona community. This further reinforces their rationale, “Better Together.”

The church staff identified about $12,000 worth of projects but were blown away when the church responded by giving more than $23,000 in just a week! And people are still giving!

The church is giving it all away to partners already making a difference in Orlando. They asked their partners what their biggest needs were and how they could best meet those needs with the money they’d raised.

A few of the needs they’ve helped meet include…

• Helping to renovate the teen center at South Orlando YMCA in Oak Ridge (ymcacentralflorida.com/y-locations/south-orlando)
• Purchasing 1,000 meals at Second Harvest Foodbank of Central Florida (feedhopenow.org) 
• Greyson Project, which gives Christmas trees, decorations and food to families at local hospitals who can’t make it home for Christmas (thegreysonproject.org)
• Central Florida Children’s Home (http://cfch.net/about)
• And there’s more to come!

With such an outpouring of love through giving, Outerbridge is giddy when he says, “You know how fun it is to be able to give so much away?! We want people to know that our church is for everyone who calls the Nonahood home.” 

When you go to nonachurch.com to learn more about this organization, you will find that they are all about community when they state, “Nona Church Sunday gatherings are a celebration of what God has done in the lives of our community during the week. Our music is engaging, our message is Christ-centered, and we do it all together in community. We believe church is meant to be enjoyed, not endured!” If you’d like to join in the fun of giving, serving, and participating in random acts of kindness to help the community, you can reach out to Nona Church by calling (407) 243-5197, ext. 5197, or emailing [email protected]. Nona Church meets at 9 and 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Nona YMCA located at 9055 Northlake Park Way.

Philip writes for Cru, a non-profit organization committed to offering spiritual guidance and changing lives by connecting people in the community and throughout the world to Jesus Christ. Philip majored in History, minored in English, and then studied Hebrew and Greek for post-grad.