By Ray Marcano

A small church in a small town has utilized its resources to make a big impact on the lives of their neighbors.

The Reeman Christian Reformed Church in Fremont, MI., opened Wellspring Adult Day Care in 2016 to help those who need a place to go during the day while giving their caregivers a much-needed break. It took prayer, research, and overcoming initial rejection for the project to move from idea to reality.

Tammy Cowley, Wellspring’s business manager, said, “We hear so many times that (caregivers) could not keep loved ones home as long as we do if it wasn’t for Wellspring.”

In 2015, a congregation member told Nate Kooistra, now the church’s associate pastor and chair of the Wellspring team, there was a need in the larger community for adult daycare services. In addition to giving the adults a place to go during the day, adult daycare would alleviate a little pressure on caregivers, who could have a little break and time for themselves.

Church members prayed about the idea, visited a few adult day care centers, and decided to recommend this new ministry to the church council.

The council, at first, said no.

“We didn’t have enough details for them,” like financial data and a staffing structure, Kooistra said.  The council loved the idea, but told Kooistra, “You’re not there yet.”

The initial rejection turned out to be a blessing because it forced the team to dig deeper to get more information. It also reminded the team that people who are unsure at first aren’t necessarily against a proposal. “They just need some time to let it sink in,” Kooistra said

The team visited three adult daycare centers and found one in Indianapolis that served as inspiration because it was a ministry of a church, which is what Wellspring sought to be. The experience helped the Reeman team understand a church-based adult daycare’s activities structure, staffing models and policies. Reeman also learned how to sustain this new ministry through funding sources such as grants, guest fees, Medicare dollars and fundraisers.

Kooistra and his team had another potential hurdle —- he had to meet with and convince the roughly 300-member congregation that an adult daycare fit the church mission.

“Some were excited, several very skeptical, just didn’t quite know why a church would get into this world of things,” he said. “A couple thought it just wouldn’t work. That was a concern for all of us.”

But the congregation approved an effort that fits nicely into the church’s overall mission.

“That’s kind of the mission of our church, to be a neighborhood church, to find ways to use the gifts God’s given us to bless the people he’s surrounded us with. So, it fits … into that kind of merging of those two passions of loving God and loving our neighbor.”

Next, the team talked to local doctors and nurses, who overwhelmingly supported the Wellspring concept. “Every one of them said, ‘I have so many people that could use that,’” Kooistra said.

And then, in the midst of prayer and hope, came an unexpected development that pushed the project over the finish line. Someone from the church donated $10,000 to the ministry, and a local organization provided a grant. Additionally, Wellspring developed other funding sources, such as an auction, and church volunteers help support the mission.

“Those things collectively felt like affirmations that this was where the Lord was leading us and providing a way do this ministry,” Kooistra said.

Now, Wellspring has become an important part of the community at large. Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the program provides lunch, activities, music and more for a maximum of 15 people.

Some attendees use wheelchairs, others have dementia or other ailments. All are welcome.

Wellspring “falls nicely into that sense of loving our neighbors and seeing churches as more than just a place to come for an hour for a week,” Kooistra said. He said a measure of success revolved around these questions: “If your church left the neighborhood, would anybody care? Who would protest? Who would be upset? I think people would be upset now if they lost Wellspring.”