FORTVILLE — Lisa Reynolds has sought to serve people in a variety of ways over the years, from helping senior citizens served by a non-profit find more connection, to making sure people are warmly welcomed when they show up at her church.
She was looking for even more ways to serve when she went to talk with a couple of her pastors. She was ready to take a smaller role in the family concrete business and wanted to spend more time ministering to other people.
One of them pointed her toward Fortville, noting that Fortville Area Resource Mission was looking for its first director. After an interview process that included helping out at the mission’s weekly drive-thru food pantry, the mission’s board chose Reynolds for the job.
“Lisa met about every quality/skill that the FARM search team was looking for; from her experience with managing the daily operations of non-profit organizations, working with volunteers, developing business plans and job roles, writing grants to most importantly her love for Christ,” Kelly Griffey, chairwoman of the search committee, wrote in an email to the Daily Reporter. “We are very happy to have her as our director.”
Reynolds began her new duties April 26, working out of an office inside Fortville Christian Church, where the food pantry hours happen on Tuesdays.
Fortville-area churches have been collaborating more closely in the last year or two. They gathered for a joint worship service in early 2020, before the coronavirus arrived in Indiana. They’ve donated to the food pantry and have offered some additional food box giveaways, such as Thanksgiving dinner supplies, with each participating church assigned a particular item to gather for the boxes.
“I began to realize God was working in the Fortville community,” Reynolds said as she learned more about FARM and the community. “They really are about working together.”
Leaders of those churches have envisioned even more ways they might be able to minister together, such as job training or counseling opportunities to address more of the various ways people struggle. When the board of FARM began its search for a director, leaders spoke of finding grants and adding another pantry time slot as examples of how having a staff member would be beneficial.
Reynolds said getting people to pray for the mission is No. 1 as she gets started. She also wants to get better acquainted with participating churches, needs in the community, and possible resources toward meeting them. She’s excited about the engaged group of volunteers already participating.
She likes to hear people’s life stories and understand their hopes and dreams.
“My passion is to connect people’s dreams to the ability to serve Christ,” she said.
Steve Wallen, Reynolds’ pastor, said he’s seen Reynolds be a connector for people as she serves on the church’s host team, greeting those coming to Genesis Church on Sundays.
“She’s always on the lookout for new people,” particularly people who seem to feel out of place or on the fringes, said Wallen, campus pastor for the church’s Noblesville location.
Reynolds and husband Don “are very including,” he added. “They’re very open to wanting other people in the community to feel welcome and feel valued.”
Griffey has seen glimpses of that, too, in Lisa Reynolds.
“She has a servant’s heart and wants to know and pray for everyone she meets,” Griffey wrote.
Reynolds said she enjoys the discovery process of getting to know people, finding resources, and seeing the pieces come together. She points to times in past endeavors when she saw God bring the right person for a role, or when people found the right fit for a place of fulfilling service or financially supporting work they found meaningful.
“It’s just neat to see the ways God works when you walk in faith,” Reynolds said. “I become more and more amazed at what God is doing in this ministry.
“It’s not about me. It’s about what God’s doing here.”
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Fortville Area Resource Mission distributes food in a drive-thru format from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays outside Fortville Christian Church, 9450 N. County Road 200W.
To volunteer: Select “Contact” at fortvillemission.org.
To donate: Select “Items needed” at fortvillemission.org. Items can be dropped off anytime in donation bins just inside the outer doors at the church.
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