JACKSONVILLE – A pastor in the North East District heeded the call of his last name recently when he teamed up with Northeast Florida United Methodist Men (UMM) to start Tool Belts United, a ministry aimed at sprucing up aging United Methodist churches in the district.

Rev. Steve Painter, pastor of Elizabeth Swaim Memorial UMC, and Michael Maxwell, president of the UMM group, hatched a plan to tap into the group’s membership at 90 churches in order to develop a volunteer team to paint and do minor repairs for free for churches in need.

Mt. Moriah UMC, nearing its 150th anniversary, was the first church to receive a face lift.

Read more about this ministry from Jacksonville.com.