Seven years. Seven years of mowing, painting, building, cleaning, and sweating. In the Bible, seven is a paramount number. A number of extreme importance. Seven means complete or whole, good and full, but it doesn’t mean finished.

This year’s GO! Weekend brought together over 200 members of the Canadian Church of Christ and the First Christian Church. People— young, older, and in-between—were sent out into Canadian to serve on 20 unique projects. The projects took a whole host of talents. From street cleaning and fence building to house painting and meal making. A few young people had to learn how to spackle while some older men quickly built a wheelchair ramp. A basement was cleaned, a home was painted, and many yards were beautified.

Each of the past seven GO! Weekends have been unique. In 2015, our first year, we wondered if we could really put it all together. In 2019, we painted five houses before noon. In 2020, we got by with a skeleton crew. This past weekend, we found a renewed love for our community. Each service team was focused, not on just completing the task, but on taking time to bless someone else. That is the heart of GO! Weekend. It is not about a particular church or their reputation. It’s not about patting ourselves on the back or seeing what an army of people can accomplish. GO! Weekend is simply about two things: Loving others and displaying the goodness of Jesus. People don’t get out in 104-degree heat for fun. We serve because we have been served.

Biblically, the number seven means complete, but it doesn’t mean done and over. GO! Weekend will continue as long as people who have received mercy continue to offer mercy. Thanks for letting us serve you, Canadian.

PHOTOS BY ANNA COX PHOTOGRAPHY