Colette Roots, a visionary, and trailblazer with a powerful mission from God.
About Her Mission: Excerpts from "Prayer Walks in The Park" by Charlie Williams
When Oak Grove was displaced from the Magruder/Camp Perry land, the church soon acquired land close by on Waller Mill Road, in a neighborhood where some congregants already lived, called Cooktown. In 1900 and 1901, the trustees of this congregation purchased the property for the church building and cemetery and named it Oak Grove Baptist. In the early 1940s, a new church building was constructed on this property, and this is the building that stands today. The historic Black church has seen its fair share of problems throughout the years, mainly structural damage, and high costs of repairs. The church was without a modern HVAC system.
Colette Roots' (the visionary of the Friends of Oak Grove Baptist Church) involvement with the church and becoming burdened to do something about the buildings’ restoration pricked her heart and spirit - she's like a Nehemiah; a Jewish leader who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the mid-5th century bc after his release from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I. Nehemiah and his followers do what seems to be the impossible because they are doing what God has called them to do.
You don't have to rebuild a wall to do the will of God.
• Start with prayer, even if you do not know what you are starting.
• Align yourself with God
• Realize that God’s plans are bigger and better than you can ever imagine. • God’s plans for each person is different.
• Remember that it is never too late.
Colette had been promised many things, many times that went unfulfilled, and she had reached a point where she could not wait any longer. It was a Kairos moment in time!! Kairos is not just crisis but opportunity and favor. God assists us in discerning the Kairos—a moment of grace.
She was called by God to do His will. Without any assurance from a man on how she would cover the costs of demolition and restoration of the church, The Holy Spirit spoke, to step out on faith.... click read more: go to "The Miracle on Waller Mill Road Not Your Ordinary Walk in the Park) article.