Insights & Information

Talent Project 'in the bag' for Justin Eaton

Justin Eaton with two large bags full of collected cans

Justin Eaton with the 2,000 cans he collected for The Talent Project of Kids Street Children's Ministry.

The Talent Project is an annual opportunity for fifth-graders aging out of Kids Street Church to make a senior gift of sorts back their final year by living out the Bible’s Parable of the Talents.

Taking up to $5, kids multiply the money through everything from yard work, to homemade craft sales and more—proceeds that have bought projectors, sound equipment and laptops over the year for the Kids Street Children’s Ministry. This year’s edition ran from Feb. 14 to Aug. 19.

Tim Gerber, children’s pastor and administrator of ministries, who began the project in 2003, said this is probably the first time it went viral. Along with teaching biblical principles, the project became an avenue for the church to demonstrate its love for a special needs child who has been a part of Kids Street Church since he was 4.

That child is Justin Eaton, 12. After talking to parents whose children had participated before, Justin’s mom, Susanne, said they settled on their project and got started right away.

“Justin’s fine motor skills are slim due to his special needs,” she said, “so we had to find something he could do with some help. Justin decided to take $3 to invest in a project, and we spent the $ 3 on plastic bags to collect cans.”

The collection effort hit high gear when Eaton posted a message about it on her Facebook account.

“One day when we were out walking, I thought, ‘Justin loves people and he has a lot of friends. Why not reach out to people who love him and ask for prayers and for cans to help with his project?’ ” Eaton said. “So we posted the Facebook note about the project.

“We would come home and there would be bags of aluminum cans at our front door. People would stop me at church to tell me they had cans for Justin at the welcome Center. Work friends who know Justin brought cans to the hospital for me to give to Justin. Former teachers and his school family at Lowrance Middle Special Needs School chipped in.

“Members from church who had been on vacation brought their soda cans back from the beach to give to Justin. Family members from Cleveland, Burke and Rutherford counties gave Justin cans. We even had friends of friends from Brazil commenting on Justin’s recycling project! My garage became full of cans.”

Justin accumulated so many cans, in fact, that Atlantic Scrap and Processing in Kernersville, which received them and paid Justin $37, estimated the bags they weighed held 2,000 cans.

Said Eaton, “I am always amazed and so very thankful for the prayers, love and support my family, my church family and my work family provide to Justin. I could tell he enjoyed the project and helping others. Sometimes he’d say, ‘Give to Mr. Tim’ when new cans came in and sometimes, ‘Give for Jesus.’ God is good!”

Gerber said it’s the latest example of the benefits of the unique ministry which annually showcases the heart and creativity of Kids Street Children’s Ministry members. The project’s fundraising total has run from more than $400 to more than $1,500.

Some of the more creative uses of the money over the years: knitting and selling pot holders and pet scarves, holding a fundraising fishing tournament, making and selling ice cream, building and selling birdhouses, buying and reselling water sold to construction workers, recording and selling CDs, grilling food for a neighborhood cookout, and making muffins for a Sunday School class and taking donations.

“It’s always fun to see what they came up with and the spirit with which they go about their projects,” Gerber said. “Just like the project’s theme verse (Romans 14:12) we are all accountable to God for what we do with the talents and resources he’s equipped each of us with.

“The Talent Project is a great way to demonstrate this Biblical truth while keeping students challenged and focused as they prepare to move up to The Crossing Middle School Ministry. It’s our hope they will draw on the faith lessons they learned with us for the rest of their lives and continue to mature as Christians so they disciple others.”

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