SPECIAL REPORT: Point University teams up with Fuller Center in Lanett

More than 400 students and faculty members from Point University teamed up with the Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project during the last week of October to spruce up 61 properties across several blocks in the mill village area of Lanett, Alabama.

The work week was a fusion of the CFCP’s Block of Blessings concept of restoring a single street in a neighborhood and the local Christian university’s Impact Week that encourages students to spread the love of Christ through community service.

Of course, with more than 400 volunteers, CFCP Executive Director Kim Roberts had to expand her Block of Blessings concept to Blocks of Blessings on four different streets. But that is a change she was happy to make.

“We’ve been so flooded with volunteers this summer,” she said. “I don’t know how to thank everybody in our area enough.”

The CFCP’s relationships with Hyundai-Dymos, InterCall and area churches already had The Fuller Center covenant partner flush with volunteers and the ability to serve dozens of families. Adding Point University to the mix stretched their level of impact even further.

“Point University has set themselves aside and so far apart from other colleges,” Roberts said.

Dennis Glenn, Point’s Vice-President for Institutional Effectiveness and Dean of Accreditation, said that The Fuller Center is a perfect fit for the school’s Impact Week — and that being able to help residents withing walking distance of the university is a bonus.

“The Fuller Center is a great outlet because it’s not an outlet — it’s a partner,” he said. “And Ms. Kim is phenomenal. I don’t know that I’ve ever met anybody with more energy, more enthusiasm and more positive vibes going on. She works great with students because students respond positively to that. And it’s genuine.”

The week of service, he said, is not a week off from educating students but a vital part of that process.

“We’ve got a variety of goals for our students,” he explained. “We believe that education is education of the total person. So, we want students to grow intellectually, we want them to grow spiritually, we want them to grow socially, we want them to grow physically, and we want them to grow in their professional lives, as well. A big part of social growth and a big part of spiritual growth is service to others in the name of Christ. We think our students are going to get tremendous benefit out of this.”

Point University moved its main campus to West Point, Georgia (adjacent to Lanett) from East Point, Georgia, in 2012, also changing its name from Atlanta Christian College. Atlanta Christian College honored Fuller Center founder Millard Fuller with its President’s Award for Distinguished Service when Fuller gave a commencement speech there in 2008.

Men’s basketball coach Bryant Marshall has been with the school through its transition from Atlanta Christian to Point University and said that one thing that has not changed is its commitment to service and helping students — and faculty — reach their full potential.

“I’ve been at a place where nobody cared about the spiritual side,” Marshall said of his time before coming to Point. “To be a part of a community that cares not only about the physical and the financial but also about the spiritual, it makes up the three parts — the body, soul and spirit. In some places, you may be incomplete in one area or the other. Being here challenges you and helps you fulfill every aspect of your life.”

Ashton Bettis is a Point student majoring in Biblical Studies and Humanities with a minor in Intercultural Missions. Not only has this Impact Week given her a chance to serve her community, but it also has introduced her to the Christian ministry of The Fuller Center.

“From what I’ve experienced working with them, I feel like they genuinely want to help people and genuinely want to shine a light into the community, whether it’s one block at a time or one house at a time,” she said. “I think being able to bring Point University and The Fuller Center together is really good and really effective.”

A special thanks to Wooster Brush Co., which donated the painting supplies used during this major project — and that will be used by other Fuller Center covenant partners in upcoming projects.

Click here to view and/or download high-resolution photos from the Block of Blessings week.

Visit Point University online.
 

Your donations help make projects like this possible.