San Diego doesn’t have very many cold, rainy days, but January 27 was an exception. On that Sunday, Pastor Jeff Langley and his wife Shelly woke up, looked outside, and prayed that the sun would appear for at least part of the day. It felt natural to talk to God about the forecast, since every other part of this particular Sunday had been made a matter of prayer for months.

Late last year, the Langleys and Cloudbreak Church committed to be part of Faith in Action, a nationwide initiative that encourages churches to consider canceling a Sunday morning service, and instead, go out and serve their community. On April 27, more than 40 churches in San Diego will participate in a county-wide Faith in Action day. In preparation for that emphasis, Cloudbreak agreed to act as a pilot project, so that other churches could see how putting their faith in action could make an impact in their neighborhood and in their own church.

They started by asking a simple question: How can we help? Langley met with Principal Cindy Venolia at Stone Ranch Elementary School, where Cloudbreak meets on Sunday mornings. She told him that no school she’d worked in had ever heard that question from a local church. They began to talk about what Cloudbreak could do to help Stone Ranch and decided on several landscaping and clean-up projects on the school grounds.

As word spread about the effort, Stone Ranch’s Parent Teacher Association also wanted to be involved. They offered to provide lunch for the volunteers. A local Cub Scout troop committed to help out on Sunday, bringing several families who aren’t part of Cloudbreak but are invested in the community.
The partnerships were set, so Cloudbreak’s members started preparing their hearts for what God could do. They bought supplies, planned the projects, and prayed for the day, asking Him to focus their energy on serving the school. Most of all, they trusted that He had everything in control, which brings us back to the weather.

That Sunday, volunteers worked in rain jackets, hats and gloves, with mud caked up to their knees. They planted trees, weeded flowerbeds and picked up trash. And at 10:30, the sun broke through the clouds. Volunteers who had stayed home because of the weather came to join in. The PTA provided lunch, and Cloudbreak’s worship band played for the volunteers while they ate. On the following Sunday, Langley led the church in a celebration of what God had done. As several church members shared what the day had meant to them, this was the theme: God was in control, and what He had led the church to do was what He had been able to deliver. Langley says Cloudbreak will head into this year with a renewed sense of how they can serve, and most importantly, why they serve.

“People see that we care about the world now, and we earn the right to share the good news we know. We serve so that we have an opportunity to share Jesus Christ, because that’s what matters.”