THOMASVILLE- Covenant Christian Center is always looking for new ways to reach children and parents, hoping to spread the word of the Gospel. On Sunday, they reached 70 children through a unique Sole to Soul campaign, where they provided children in need with shoes, while also giving them a Bible.

Pastor Hardy Clayton and Lady Cheree Clayton longed to help children when their church was completed back in April on Vine Street.

“We had a vision to do a Sole to Soul shoe drive next year,” Cheree said. “But, Pastor woke up one day and said God told him to do it this year.”

Despite the late notice, the church announced the Sole to Soul shoe drive to their congregation three weeks ago, and the congregation welcomed the challenge with full force, collecting over 70 pairs of shoes for children in need.

The church sent their congregation home with forms, asking them to give the forms to neighbors or other community members who they knew may need a new pair of shoes.

“It’s just not just for kids at Covenant Christian Center,” Cheree stressed. “Nearly 80% of these shoes will go out to other children in the community.”

With so many children already reached, Cheree hopes that next year they can double their count and help other families who may not have known this year about their shoe drive.

The shoe drive serves a dual purpose for Covenant Christian Center; it allows them to give back and help their neighbor, but it also gives Cheree and Hardy the opportunity to spread the word and love of Jesus to those who may not already know it.

“It’s not just about the shoes, we are giving out Bibles donated by Salt Grace Ministries as well,” Cheree said. “My prayer is that they will take those Bibles back to their friends and loved ones and share the word of God.”

Cheree understands some of the kids may not fully understand the Bible yet or even be able to read, but her wish is that those kids may give it to their mother or grandmother, who can then read it to them.

Hardy agreed, saying he hopes the shoes just serve as a seed to bring the children and families back to Covenant Christian Center.

“We eventually want to do community outreach in every aspect and get to the point where children want to come here,” he said. “It’s our desire to have something for them after school. This is just the beginning.”

Hardy said because this is just the start, the church hasn’t quite reached the point of visibility where everyone knows who they are and what they stand for, but that is their ultimate goal.

“We want them to know Jesus is love and we want to be able to show them and exemplify the love of Christ,” Hardy said.

The church already boasts a fairly large children’s program, which is held during their 9:30 a.m. service on Sunday mornings.

“We have different age groups and different classes,” Cheree said. “We can see anywhere from 4-5 kids to sometimes 16-17.”

While Cheree and Hardy both encourage families to come to church together, they said they also offer a church van and will happily pick up any interested kids or teens who want to come and worship with them.