A Morgantown Christian Academy student recently painted one of the school’s trailers as part of a leadership project designed to benefit his community.
MCA is a ministry of Faith Baptist Church. The academy was founded in 1978 and serves students in kindergarten through grade 12 and is a member of the American Association of Christian Schools and the West Virginia Education Association.
Connor Lemley, 17, has attended MCA for almost 2 years. He has been involved in Boy Scouts of America for seven years, a timespan which includes his time as a Cub Scout. Lemley is working to become an Eagle Scout, a process which requires candidates to complete an Eagle Scout Service Project.
Lemley knew that his school had put in new buildings and had heard that administration wanted some work done on those buildings. So, Lemley volunteered to take on the tasks of cleaning and painting one of the new trailers to complete his Eagle Scout Service Project and to help Faith Baptist Church and MCA.
Lemley wasn’t nervous to propose his idea to MCA administration and Faith Baptist Church representatives. He knew that the pastor wanted changes made to the buildings and felt that his offer to not only make those changes, but do so at no cost to the school, was an opportunity that administration wasn’t likely to decline.
“I had to check with the school, and they were fine. … The pastor, who was the one that was benefiting the most, I had to ask him, and he was on board right away,” Lemley said.
Lemley was assisted in painting the building by fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 93, family members and a few friends. The experience wasn’t a particularly bonding one, as Lemley and his troop, relatives and friends were pretty close already, but it did serve as a team-building event.
“It was something that we worked on together as a team and went through the challenges together,” he said. “[We] had fun, too.”
Lemley said he is very proud of how the paint job came out, especially after the painters endured rain showers on their first day of work. They made it to the third side of the trailer before they were totally rained out. Lemley and his crew weren’t sure how the fresh paint affected by the rain would turn out, but they were able to remedy the problem in a way that allowed the team to be satisfied with the outcome of their work.
“I know the church definitely needs other projects done and if I can, I will try my best to help,” Lemley said.
Paula Lemley, English and finance teacher at MCA and mother of Connor Lemley, was supportive of her son’s project idea from the beginning.
“I thought it was an excellent idea. It was something that would benefit his school, mostly. His youngest brother is a middle school student here, and it is the middle school building that he worked on and painted for them,” she said.
According to Paula, the middle school students at MCA are pleased with the work done to the trailer. She thought it was nice that a big brother was able to serve his younger brother, and she knows that the project made Connor feel proud.
Paula assisted the painting crew in taping off areas of the building in preparation, but beyond that, she said the work was left up to Connor, his father and his troop. They did 90% of the work, while Paula and her daughter provided food and helped with the cleanup.
“It made me very proud. Connor did an excellent job. This was something that he took on and he planned it himself,” she said. “He made sure that it was all ready to go, he organized it. It just made me very proud of him. He did a very adult thing by doing this. He took it on, and he accomplished his goal and he did really well.”
Treg Spicer, lead pastor and overseer of Faith Baptist Church and MCA, said the trailer that was painted was purchased in the fall of 2019 and was delivered to MCA property in the spring of 2020. It was purchased because MCA has seen tremendous growth in the last two years, and the academy had run out of room for its middle school students.
When Connor expressed his desire to paint the trailer, administration was thrilled. They had put countless hours into gutting and remodeling the inside of the trailer while the outside was put on hold. Connor’s offer to handle the exterior took a weight off the administration’s shoulders.
Spicer believes Connor set a tremendous example for not only students at MCA, but all other kids his age, in showing that he was willing to give back to his school. It was a testimony to MCA teachers and the time and effort they put into their students.
“We were just thrilled that he was willing to do that, take his time – it was two Saturdays – to devote to a building that he’s only going to be in for [another] week,” he said. “He was still willing to give the time, the energy, the effort and the resources to make that happen. It was just a wonderful thing for us to see.”
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