Photo Gallery: North Coast Church Volunteers Spruce Up Carlsbad Community Hubs

The following is written by Emily Kuhnel, community service coordinator with North Coast Church

Some of Carlsbad’s key parks, schools and community centers have a new sheen this week thanks to volunteers from North Coast Church who rolled up their sleeves to unleash acts of kindness for a frantic 48 hours.

North Coast Church canceled church services for the entire weekend Apr. 27-28 to tackle 250 service projects throughout North County, resulting in approximately $1.6 million in enhancements to the community.

The children at the Carlsbad Boys & Girls Club are enjoying renovated restrooms. Previously blocked streams around the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center are flowing again, and a sinkhole threatening the popular Hubbs Trail has been repaired. Buena Vista Elementary school has restriped parking lots and new benches, while La Costa Heights has new garden boxes to groom.

“Church is about so much more than what happens inside our church walls,” said Charlie Bradshaw, North Coast Church executive pastor. “It’s about following Jesus’ example to live out our faith in tangible ways—no strings attached. It’s amazing how our entire congregation comes together on this event to be the modern-day hands and feet of Jesus in our community.”

The Weekend of Service takes about a year to organize as the church collects wish-lists from officials all over North County and organizes industrial-sized orders for materials. Professionals from the congregation—from painters, to contractors to plumbers—are assigned to projects and offer their services for free.

At Jefferson Elementary, children arrived at school to see new murals on the previously rotting ball walls. Also, the school’s “Kids for Peace” chapter is enjoying a new Peace Place where a blank dirt lot once stood.

“Kids for Peace is beyond thrilled to have a "Peace Park" at Jefferson Elementary School,” said Jill McGanigal, Kids for Peace executive director. “Thanks to North Coast Church, our students have a magnificent space to join together, dream big, make plans and take action to create a culture of peace and kindness."

This is North Coast’s fourth Weekend of Service, which occurs every two years. North Coast is a multi-site church with about 9,000 attending weekend services at campuses in Vista, Carlsbad and Fallbrook.