Outreach Ministry Sunday (continued from page 1)

Three other testimonies described support they received following the first major event of Zion Hill’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. Drive through donations during the “Still Serving” Outreach event on March 12-13, 2022, included hundreds of cleaning supplies, diapers, hand sanitizers, cleaning wipes, food, blankets, and other needed items.

Ms. Tonnisha Lasalle, Operations Director for youthSpark thanked God for the blessing of their connection with Zion Hill. She told the congregation, “The cleaning supply drive that you hosted knocked our socks off.” She reported that they are still sharing those supplies.

Ms. Penny Black-Beard, Family Support Coordinator for Sheltering Arms, expressed her organization’s gratitude for the donations that reached far beyond their expectations, and allowed them to share their donated supplies with their other South Fulton Centers.

Ms. Valerie Hampton, Director of Programs and Facilities, Solomon’s Temple Foundation also declared that they are still using the supplies they received. She added that Zion Hill delivered the donations, helped with sorting, and delivered the supplies to their designated destinations.

Following the testimonies, the 2023 Outreach Ministry Day opened a new chapter in the annual celebration with the presentation of the first ever Outreach Ministry Day Award of a $2,000 check to Ms. Satira Hall, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Second Chance LLC for the organization’s commitment to serving veterans and homeless men in metropolitan Atlanta.

Before the message, Sister Latonia Johnson introduced the guest speaker, Reverend Dr. Ralph B. Watkins, as the first African American male to serve as a professor and Endowed Chair in Columbia Theological Seminary’s 200-year history. She described him as an author who is also known as the “Scholar with a Camera.”

As the service moved to the message, Reverend Watkins, a son of Zion Hill, provided a powerful lesson for igniting a “Power Surge.” He proclaimed, “If you want to be new, you got to do new.” Have you ever heard someone proclaim to you or someone else who cannot seem to get past a certain point in moving ahead? They told you that if you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result? Well, that’s what Reverend Watkins’ message implied. If you want to grow in

Christ, you must identify ways to serve Him beyond just attending worship services.

Reverend Watkins provided a powerful example. He described his mother’s commitment to serve her community in Eatonville, Florida by providing a basketball hoop with a steel pole in her yard purchased with her own “hard-earned money” that had a “real net” and was secured to the ground with cement. He (continued on page 5)