The "Mission

Maniacs," is a lively group of third, fourth, and fifth graders who

meet Sunday nights at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church to "grow

in their faith and discover the joy found by reaching out to others in

need."

One of the

group's favorite mission projects, "Pennies For Puppies," involved

sponsoring the training of a seeing-eye guide dog for the blind. A Mission

Maniacs family adopted the puppy until she was ready to go to guide dog

school, and the children made and sold gourmet dog biscuits, picture frames,

and handmade wrapping paper to pay for the puppy's training.

Another project

involved raising money for the Joseph Sams School, a local school for

mentally and physically challenged children. For this project, the Mission

Maniacs designed, printed and marketed a line of Christmas cards.

The children

also are involved in hands-on projects. Recently, some of the older children

in the group worked side-by-side with adults on the construction of a

new home to benefit a needy family. They pitched in where they could,

and as fifth grader, Jack Davenport put it, "It just makes you feel

good to help someone else."

First Methodist's

children's ministries director, Beth Clark, says of the group, "We

are showing the children they can make a positive impact on the world

to serve within the church, throughout the community and all around the

world."

Clark says

she stresses the importance of teaching the children positive values like

generosity, perseverance, and kindness from an early age so that when

difficult issues arise in the teen years, the children already have built

a strong moral foundation from which to make their decisions.

Members of

the Mission Maniacs welcome any child in the third, fourth and fifth grade

to become a part of their group. The only requirement to join, Clark says,

is a "desire to learn about God, serve others, and have fun!"

For further

information, contact Clark at 770-719-9421.

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