Filling the School Needs

In a small, rural Missouri town of 440 people, Assemblies of God Pastor Ken D. Wallace, 59, and his wife, Debbie, are considered by many locals to be pastors of the community, not simply pastors of Bucklin Assembly of God.

In 2013, the Wallaces became pastors of the church, the oldest in the Show Me State north of the Missouri River. They looked forward to serving in a rural community — even though each weekend they continue to make the 115-mile commute from Liberty, Missouri, where Debbie has been an elementary schoolteacher for 25 years.

It didn’t take long for Wallace to find a niche to fill.

“When we went to the school, we noticed few children had shoes, and for the ones who did have shoes, they didn’t properly fit,” Wallace says. He even recalls seeing one young boy who had worn duct tape around his socks. Before long, Bucklin Assembly of God began providing a new pair of shoes for every child in need of them. For the current school year, the church supplied footwear for pupils in a neighboring community as well. In all, the church has purchased over 100 pairs of shoes.

Bucklin AG, which only has around 40 regular attendees, also has been buying school supplies for every child in the town.

“If we can supply things to every kid in the school, we are affecting every home in the community,” Wallace says. “This should be our goal.”

If the school calls Wallace before 11 a.m. with a specific need, he and Bucklin AG try to take care of the request by the end of the day. Nicole Head, principal of the Bucklin school, which encompasses kindergarten through 12^th grade, says the church’s assistance is vital to the education of local students.

“Ken and his church are changing our community,” says. “They take a huge load off of me and our teachers. We know that we can turn to Ken and his congregation to help us meet the basic needs of our students.”

Bucklin AG recently started partnering with Rural Compassion, an experience that Wallace says has made him even more aware of the needs in the town.

“Communities like ours don’t care who is in the pulpit,” Wallace says. “They just want to know that the person in the pulpit cares.”

Wallace also has connected with two nearby congregations of the Fellowship, Brookfield Assembly of God and Marceline Assembly of God, for combined outreaches.

Ashley B. Grant

Ashley B. Grant has a master's degree in Human Services Marriage and Family Counseling from Liberty University and is a credentialed Christian counselor through the American Association of Christian Counselors. Grant also holds certifications in crisis pregnancy counseling and advanced life coaching. Ashley is a fourth generation Assemblies of God preacher’s kid and has one daughter and three sons.