With growth comes change, and the Community Ministry Center is embracing this new season. The Community Ministry Center will soon be changing its name to The IMPACT Center: a place that continues to offer practical help and eternal hope all under one roof. Since the grand opening of the new location back in 2013, The IMPACT Center has been able to multiply the amount of people we serve in our community. The 15,000 square foot building allows us to offer our services in a retail-like atmosphere, offering donated food and clothing to people in need. Numbers have steadily increased in the amount of people we serve per week, jumping from 200 families to as many 375 families per week. “Sharing the hope we find in Christ is the heart and desire of this ministry. Those in need are able to receive clothing once each month and supplemental food once every week. We are not zip code specific and that too allows us to make a greater IMPACT on our community.” — Community Connections Coordinator, Crystal Thompson
 
Pastor Chris is passionate about the word IMPACT and goes into detail on the reason for the name change. “The vision statement of Mount Pleasant Christian Church is to be a church that is locally focused and globally engaged with an undeniable IMPACT for Christ. What we want to do is make an IMPACT for Christ in our community and around the world through our ministry partners. To that end, we are re-naming our Community Ministry Center (CMC) where we provide food and clothing for hundreds of folks each week to the IMPACT Center. We want a name that reflects our intent. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Basically Jesus says that light IMPACTS the darkness. That’s what we want to do. We want to be a light for Christ that makes an IMPACT on the darkness that so many people live in day after day. And we want everyone who enters this building (IMPACT Center) to be reminded of our vision and our heart.”
 
Through a partnership with Midwest Food Bank the IMPACT Center distributes food to other Johnson County agencies in an effort to help get necessary food relief deeper into Johnson County. In addition, Mount Pleasant’s IMPACT Center will be called upon to offer food relief in the event of a local crisis or national disaster. Statistics from Midwest Food Bank indicate an estimated 10% of people living within five miles of MPCC are living within the state guidelines for emergency food relief. Mount Pleasant is committed to offering practical help through the food and clothing ministries, but the opportunity to offer eternal hope is at the heart of the matter. The gathering room; a place where the Truth of God’s Word is shared weekly before food and clothing shopping hours begin, is where the true IMPACT begins.