On Saturday July 12th, 2025 an astonishing 160 people from over 20 churches joined together for a Day of Service, at Takena Elementary school in Albany to give the school a facelift by painting and landscaping it. This was the 16th year of annual Day of Service projects by ServeINC.
The day started with some encouraging words from Rob Nelke, ServeINC board president. “One of the things that we often hear about these projects is people say “that was fun”, and normally you don’t hear that kind of stuff around the house, doing chores, but it’s fun because the body of Christ is here, and everyone is working together. Look around, this is the body of Christ of our town.”
After a few instructions and some prayer volunteers split into groups to begin work.
In a large area in the back of the school a sea of orange shirts, of parents and children, could be seen painting. Brett Huff with Hope Church was the wall leader. “This wall has grass as opposed to concrete. The kids get to paint and have fun. They can be a part of the team, and we don’t have to worry about them spilling anything on the ground. A great win-win. We want to see everyone involved, and at the same time, do a quality job.”
Deidre and Kyle Elliot were there volunteering with Willamette Community church. “It’s so important to show our community that what Christ is all about is to serve others.”
Christopher, an intern with the Adult and Teen Challenge program enjoyed the energy of the day, “I am very appreciative of the opportunity to be able to serve it’s right along with what I like. It was done efficiently and quickly, and I love to see many hands make light work.”
Gary Dahlquist works for the school district and has helped with the projects from the beginning. He thinks the project is a great way to save the school district money. His team at the district does the prep work and pressure washing ahead of time. “It’s a great, great project,” he said, adding that the painting probably saved the school district $80,000.
ServeINC’s main purpose is to build unity in the body of Christ, as Rob put it Saturday. “We are many congregations, but one church.” Saturday’s project brought the churches and believers together to show the love of God to the community through quality Acts of Service. Which is what ServeINC is all about.