Students came alongside ministries and organizations Wednesday to reach and impact Kentucky and Indiana communities in Ministry With Others day at Nazarene Youth Conference 2011 - A World Unbroken.

"Today, more than 6,000 people boarded buses and went out to over 200 project sites," said Marty Hoskins of Global Mission, coordinator of the projects.

All of the projects were identified working with the different ministry partners in the Louisville area and responding to the needs of the people in the city, said Hoskins. 

"We were working in schools, working in parks doing clean-up, working in homeless shelters, community centers, Nazarene churches, and sister churches - we came alongside ministries and organizations to help them as they met the needs of the people in the Louisville area. 

"It was pretty cool," Hoskins said. 

Bundles of Hope, the ongoing collaborative project of NYC, received help from at least 11 districts Wednesday. Students sorted supplies for babies and families and helped load trucks from Dare to Care - the organization that will deliver the supplies throughout the greater Louisville area. Included in the supplies where 1,800 hand-knit hats from the North Carolina District.

There was a wide variety of projects, including Operation Brightside, Community Action Partnership, Neighborhood Place, and Beading to Beat Autism. 

In Beading to Beat Autism, students from North Arkansas, Northwest Indiana, Southwest Indiana, New England, and South Texas, among others, made 12,388 beaded bracelets. This was the equivalent to $37,000 toward a $300 million project to build a hospital specializing in treating autism. 

The Prairie Lakes (Minnesota, North and South Dakota) District served at the Radcliff, Kentucky, Church of the Nazarene about 40 miles south of downtown Louisville near Fort Knox. 

The church's pastor has been at the church for a year and is attempting to rebuild its congregation, which is at 19 members presently. As he concentrates on the spiritual upkeep of his church, there isn't a lot of help available for the physical upkeep of the sanctuary and parsonage. 

The youth helped as they landscaped, did lawn work, washed and stained a deck, and made a large overgrown garden look freshly planted. 

One of the youth, Alec, is from Minot, North Dakota, a city still trying to recover from massive flooding in the spring. 

Alec said his church, Minot First, was evacuated, but the floodwaters stopped right as they got to the church. He said the scene made for a dramatic setting for CNN, who parked their truck and satellite at the church. 

The church helped residents where they could and several members of the congregation, including Alec, filled sandbags. 

He said he felt anxious as he had to go to his job because he couldn't be helping those in dire need. 

He said his work Wednesday in Louisville was different, as no one's life was in immediate danger, but "it's always nice to help out."

Twenty miles away, the Arizona District was helping the Camino de Santidad Church of the Nazarene have a block party and build a shed on the church's property. The event drew a couple dozen kids from the neighborhood who played in a bounce house and played games. The smiles on the kids' faces were mirrored by those of the Arizona youth.

The work was similar to the outreach that Shannon Michelson does at her church, the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene near Tucson. 

"It was easy to jump right in," she said. 

Michelson is attending her first NYC and though it just started, she hopes it doesn't end, she said.

Cassie Bott, a student from Springfield, Illinois, was attending her second NYC. She was in St. Louis in 2007 as an incoming freshman. 

She and her fellow Illinois District students were serving at Louisville's Farmdale Church of the Nazarene painting fences, walls, trim, kids classrooms, light posts, and serving free lunch to people of the community. They also canvased the neighborhood for VBS. 

The group accomplished all their tasks, but time was of the essence.

"I'll always remember that we painted a bathroom in half an hour," said Jessa Hendricker of Clinton, Illinois, First Church of the Nazarene.

Bott said the service project was a bonding experience for her youth group and those in the district she occasionally sees at camp. She appreciated that a whole day was devoted to helping the community. She was glad to lend a hand. 

"If someone was going to do this at my church, it'd mean a lot to me," said Bott, who will attend MidAmerica Nazarene University next year.

Some groups were small, while others needed four buses for transportation. This was the case for students from the Eastern Michigan District who worked at the Grace Community Church of the Nazarene. 

There were so many Eastern Michigan students at Grace Community cutting down trees, building an addition to the playground, painting, landscaping, and clearing the spacious wooded property of debris, that some (with permission) spontaneously walked to the McMahon District Fire Department and volunteered their time there. 

"We had more teens than we had work, although there was a lot of work to do, so it was nice that we could volunteer at the fire department," said Ralph Cawthra, youth pastor at Fowlerville, Michigan, Church of the Nazarene.

Elsewhere, students from the Philadelphia District did lawn work and painted at the Calvary Church of the Nazarene and some from Alabama South volunteered their time at a nearby health and rehabilitation center for seniors. 

"They were very compassionate and hardworking and there was no grumbling," said Glory Erbele, director of activities and volunteers for Meadowview Health and Rehab. "I have worked with hundreds of teenagers and have heard it before, but not from this group. It was 'What can I do for you?' - they really lived out that motto."

Some Alabama South students cleaned wheelchairs, a garage, and a basement, while others read mail to residents, delivered water to them, and spent time talking with them. 

"They helped tremendously," Erbele said. "We're very glad they came. I wish they could have stayed longer!"

From all reports, that sentiment was shared by more than 200 ministries and organizations, as well as Louisville's mayor, Greg Fischer.

"What you did today, what you provided today for the city, the reports I've heard ¿ what is that? Compassion. Service. And you might be saying 'what's this politician talking about compassion?' It's the key to make our communities and our world a better place," Fischer said Wednesday evening before the first group session.

"The commitment to helping our babies, our young families, is humbling. I just wanted to thank you. 

"Keep that spirit alive. 

"You've given us the gift of love. Modeling compassion in this city sets the example for the groups that follow you."

For more stories from NYC, see the NCN News NYC 2011 section by clicking here.