Changing the world … one house at a time

For 12 Valley families, World Changers truly lived up to their name this week.

World Changers is a faith-based program in which middle and high school students, along with college students and adults, help renovate homes and perform similar construction jobs. Since Monday, 163 volunteers have been working at 12 Valley sites, making homes a better place for local residents.

"We've been putting up siding, painting, doing the Sheetrocking, even putting on a new roof," said Kyle Kennedy of World Changers. "We've been doing basically every type of construction, even a handicap ramp."

World Changers is based in Georgia. It is a ministry of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Church. Through the work in the communities, World Changers helps spread the word of God in a noninvasive manner.

"If we give of ourselves and give our love before you talk to people about God and His word, people are more receptive," Kennedy explained. "World Changers is a way to get students involved in missions and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that haven't been used."

World Changers got involved in the community service projects through the Alaska Community Development Corporation. All of the families whose homes were fixed up by World Changers had to first qualify through the ACDC.

"Basically, through state and federal funds, we are providing the materials and they are providing the labor. With them providing the labor for free, we will be able to rehab more homes than we would normally have been able to," said Curt Christiansen of ACDC. "We will weatherize 60 homes in the Valley this year, rehab between six and 10 and do about five senior access projects. By saving money on labor because World Changers is here, we can get to more homes."

Christiansen said Spenard Builders Supply and Forget-Me-Not Demos have also been a big help in making ACDC's money go farther, which means more homes can be rehabilitated.

Students have worked since Monday at 12 sites throughout the Valley.

They came from Nikiski, where they worked on 17 different sites. After their Valley construction projects are complete, the group will spend two weeks in Anchorage before returning to the Lower 48.

"World Changers was in Anchorage for two weeks last year, and we first became involved through the Baptist convention," said Bruce Rowell, of First Baptist Church of Palmer. "World Changers was there and said they wanted to expand their projects."

World Changers is one way in which government and churches can work together to do positive things for communities, Rowell said. He said that by partnering with ACDC, a win-win situation resulted.

"It's a chance for ACDC to have these projects done for about half of the cost, and a chance for students to make a difference," Rowell said.

Those students come from all geographical areas, and a wide range of cultures. Jackson, Mich., is the home to a large group of World Changers working in the Valley -- 43 of the 163 participants are from that church alone.

"Most of the World Changer participants join through youth groups and through their churches," Kennedy said. "Sometimes we have an individual who joins by themselves, but normally, it is through a church group."

Laura Stiles is from Huntsville, Ala. Not many 16-year-old students have seen or done even half of the things she has through World Changers.

"This is my fourth year. I've done things in Mexico, Florida and now Alaska," Stiles said. "It makes you feel really good to help people through the projects."

Sara Johnson, a 15-year-old from Jackson, Mich., is already in her second summer of work with World Changers. She said she got involved through her youth group.

"Last year I painted a lot, and this year I'm doing more construction projects," Johnson said.

The participants all have to pay to join World Changers, as well as fork over the cash to get to the sites. That meant about a $1,000 price tag.

"Alaska presented some challenges because normally, church groups take a van to the site. They obviously couldn't do that here," Rowell said.

The Alaska projects represent a small number of the projects planned for this summer.

"We're doing projects from Puerto Rico to Alaska this year," Kennedy said. "There are 89 different projects going on throughout the country this summer. It's easier to speak to people about faith-based things while you are helping them and showing them the good things students can do."