Sometimes in life, you’ve got to have a little faith.

That’s what the congregation of Vernon Memorial Apostolic Church decided to have.

When Pastor William Cummings brought his vision to the church for an outreach program, it would take a lot of thoughtful prayer and consideration in order to figure out what would do the church and its ministry the most good.

“We were looking to do an outreach program,” said Cummings. “We needed a facility away from the church. We ultimately wanted to do something with kids and seniors.”

Pastors usually have a vision of what the church ministry should work towards.

“What is dear to our hearts is children,” he said. “We wanted to educate children and provide a safe place to train and prepare them to be productive citizens.”

In 2008, Cummings said the church bought the old Outlaws building on U.S. Highway 61 south.

The property was an eyesore, in a state of severe disrepair.

“It was a good location, and it sort of fell into our hands, so to speak,” he explained. “Once we got the building, we were not yet in a financial position to remodel. We prayed and looked for a way to go.”

The fellowship had several options. They could tear the entire building down and start fresh or they could tear down parts of it and restore what was still salvagable.

Cummings said they discovered to tear down the original structure and build a nice, new facility would be terribly costly.

“We knew we would only use the building a few times a month,” he said. “There was no real reason to go in debt for that.”

The congregation spent months deliberating, praying and waiting on God to provide the clear choice for their church.

The answer was to tear down the unusuable parts of the property. They discovered that the main structure was sturdy enough to build upon.

Cummings said the Cleveland Board of Alderman also had a lot to do with the speediness of the repairs.

“They thought it was an eyesore and wanted us to do something with it,” he said.

Upon its completion, the church will initiate an afterschool program in its “safe place.”

They will also offset their expenditures by allowing choice events to also take place at the community center such as wedding receptions, family reunions and other acceptable functions.

While The Bolivar Commercial took a tour of the new facility, several church members stopped by to see what their efforts had wrought.

Willie and Theresa Lofton, long-time members, were among them.

As they walked through, smiles were evident that they felt the church had made a good decision.

Theresa Lofton was a skeptic at first, wanting to be sure that the church used its resources and what God gave them in the right manner.

“My first thought was that we better be careful,” she said. “We needed to be sure that this was what we could do. We needed to be sure this was the way we could reach the community the best.”

Members for 48 years, the Loftons decided, after much prayer, that the center would be a good endeavor for their church.

Now looking around them, the Loftons said they were amazed at what it had become.

“I cannot believe what this once was and how they made it into something beautiful,” Theresa Lofton said.

Lofton added that the church membership is accustomed to expansion and change.

They feel that it is the best way to grow God’s kingdom.

In 1983, the congregation moved from Mound Bayou to a church on Andrews Street in Cleveland.

The little church in the Jewel of the Delta did not allow for the congregation to grow their membership.

“We wanted to expand our membership and while we loved that church building, we had outgrown it,” Theresa Lofton said.

Vernon Memorial Apostolic Church first opened its doors with only 50 people. Now with 162, the church is flourishing.

Even with tough economic times facing the nation, the membership is confident that if they are doing what God wants them to do — which is to expand His kingdom — they cannot fail.

“This is another way to give back to our community and to reach out to this area,” Cummings said.