In September 2018, Richard Brunson and North Carolina Baptists on Mission were looking for a facility to serve as a base of operations for long-term rebuild efforts following Hurricane Florence. He soon received a tip that a school in Duplin County might be available.
Charity Middle School in Rose Hill had sat vacant for more than a year after doors closed in 2017. Despite older parts of the buildings showing age and some newer damage and debris caused by recent vandalism, Brunson and others believed the building had potential.
Then there was the name. Brunson kept coming back to the name.
“Charity,” he thought. “It’s perfect.”
Baptists on Mission, an auxiliary to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, quickly acquired the building and now, nearly five years later, the former school operates as a full-fledged missions camp that not only is a launching point for volunteers to share Christ’s love by meeting tangible needs, but doubles as a hub of community activity just as it did when children roamed the halls.
“I always thought, ‘Wow, what a great opportunity,’” said Brunson, Baptists on Mission executive director. “But I don’t think anybody could have envisioned what it’s become.”
Even an abandoned school can graduate to a new purpose.
A vision takes shape
From the outside Charity Mission Camp still looks very much like the school, even down to the name that still adorns the building — Charity Middle School — in big, bold letters against the brick facade.
“Just this week somebody told me that they love driving down the road and seeing the Charity Middle School sign,” said Tammy Weeks, whose husband Richard is director of missions for Eastern Baptist Association. “We never thought of taking that down.”
Through a partnership with Baptists on Mission, the Weeks have overseen Charity’s day-to-day operations from the beginning.
They live in a converted apartment that was once the teacher’s lounge, and Eastern Association’s headquarters is at the site.
In fact, it was Richard who gave Brunson the tip about Charity’s potential availability.
“Tammy and I have been so blessed,” Richard said. “Running this facility is not the easiest thing in the world to do. It takes a lot of hours, but when you see the things that happen here, it confirms the vision that we had back in 2018.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chad Austin and originally published by Biblical Recorder, news service of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
