Altadena church member Dave Roberts met with the principal of the John Muir High School and with representatives of the City of Altadena with a simple dream: he wanted to see streets around the local high school looking better.

Later, more than 100 community members, high school students (including about 30 teens from the church) and city volunteers came together and worked to make it happen.

“The results of this effort have increased my interest in working with community residents in the Altadena-Pasadena area,” said Roberts, a property acquisitions manager for the City of Los Angeles. “From this event, we learned that many, many others care about the upkeep of the community, too.

"I see our community outreach going beyond the Bible studies and providing the food that we do, to keeping the neighborhood in good condition. We are finding that our vision and outreach open doors to minister to the community more effectively. Mowing lawns and sweeping streets are important aspects of sharing the gospel, because it touches people where they live.”

The school cleanup extended to the school’s neighboring streets. Volunteers swept, pulled weeds and picked up litter along Lincoln Avenue and around the school grounds. Public Works officials trimmed shrubbery and added mulch around trees.

According to Pastor Howard Small, about 60 church members participated. As encouraging as the strong turnouts were from both the church and the community, though, what happened afterward impressed him even more. “The town Council invited us to meet with them and share the church’s vision for the city,” he said. “After that, we were invited to a follow-up meeting with our council member.

“The City agreed to fund our proposal for the community. We held a block party last year on the church property," Small reported. "This year’s block party will be held in one of the projects in the area and combined with a cleanup day,” he said. “We will again offer free health services from Glendale Adventist Medical Center, as well as having commercial and other providers offering free or low-cost services and a varied sampling of vegetarian cooking.

“Being invited to share our vision for the community with town leaders,” the pastor added, “that was amazing!”