By Ashley Perham
Baptist and Reflector
Riverview Baptist Church pastor Mike Parker puts up a sign to welcome guests to the church’s food pantry.
KNOXVILLE — Mike Parker had never pastored before coming to Riverview Baptist Church, Knoxville, in January 2020 to help with church revitalization.
“You hired a missionary, and so we’re going to do missions,” he told the congregation of around 20. “That’s how we’re going to get this thing going.”
Six weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Parker knew the church needed to start doing outreach so he started a food pantry as an opportunity to help the community.
Parker, who is bivocational, has run a food pantry in Guatemala since 2008. Clubhouse Guatemala is still his full-time job.
Parker described East Knoxville as a working class community that doesn’t have a lot of money. In April 2020, he applied for a Compassion Ministries grant for $2,000 to start the pantry. The grant money came from the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.
The pantry has acted as a catalyst that allowed the church to get into the community and share the gospel.
“We’ve obviously seen a couple of families that have joined through the pantry, but more than that we’ve seen the people in our church rally around the pantry, and through that we’ve seen growth,” Parker said. “We’ve seen some families come back to our church because we’re alive and doing things.”
Riverview had a food pantry several years ago, said long-time church member Connie Pickel, who runs the pantry as a volunteer. However, it was only a few shelves.
Now, it’s like a small grocery store, she said.
Pickel was originally hesitant to run the pantry, but she said she felt like God was leading her to do it.
“I’ve never really been in charge of something that I think is that important. Giving food out to people, that’s not my thing. Dealing with people is really not my thing,” Pickel said.
However, Pickel said that the experience has changed her.
“A year ago, I would have never done the things that I’ve done now,” she said. “I would have never walked up to someone and just started talking. That’s not who I am, but since the food pantry, I’m ready.”
The pantry, a member of Midwest Food Bank, gives out boxes the second and fourth Saturday of each month. They’ve also been able to partner with other organizations. Through the USDA, they were able to give out 200 boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Parker believes the pantry has played a large part in the revitalization of Riverview.
“When people are given opportunities to serve, and they engage people that are non-Christian, or maybe they’re Christian but they’ve been away for a long time, it gives them a new, renewed energy because they’re seeing those lives changed,” he said.
The church saw 97 attendees this Easter, and people in the community now see an active church, Parker said.
“It’s not about the number,” Parker said. “We’re seeing lives changed.”
Other ministries that can receive grant monies include church compassion ministry projects, associational/ministry center compassion ministry projects, summer feeding projects and restorative justice ministries.
“Because Tennessee Baptists gave to the Golden Offering, it’s allowed church revitalization to happen and God to move throughout our congregation and our community,” Parker said. B&R
