The outreach ministry of ONE-BY-ONE began with a dream and a prayer in late 1998. By March, 1999, God took over. We began a ministry to teach reading. Our mission was to reach out and help others with reading skills. In our wildest of dreams and with our greatest of prayers, we totally underestimated the Power of the Lord.

ONE-BY-ONE, (R.E.A.D.) was planned to be fully operable over a four-year period. R.E.A.D. is an acronym for the separate areas of help that the program offers: remediation; education; advancement and diversity. We decided to begin with students who needed tutoring, the area of education. We began with six students and six teachers. However, our Lord had other plans. As an additional student requested help, we had another volunteer teacher by the next class meeting. Feelings of humility and happiness filled us all—twelve more times! We finished the year in June with eighteen students, grades two through twelve, and three adults. The students came - all with different needs - and the program jumped to its third year of implementation. God does provide.

Growth is continuous. We have reached so many within our limited space. St. Matthew’s is a Partner in Education with J. W. Coon Elementary School. They have a waiting list of forty for ONE-BY-ONE. Parents and teachers say they prefer our results over other available tutoring programs. Our Number One Goal is to help each student find his self-esteem and encourage it to grow. Then, we teach reading skills. Our outreach has grown from within the walls of our own church to schools all over Cumberland County, all the way to the Czech Republic as we have worked with three adults to learn to read English as a second language.

ONE-BY-ONE, our Christian Outreach in Reading, meets each Monday at 7pm during the school year. The last meeting for the Fourth Session was on May 21st for the 2000-2001 year. The next session will begin in August 2001 as school starts. Our facility has a capacity of 26 students. We have had up to 19 during the 2000-2001 school year with many still on the waiting list. We are still in need of some additional teachers to reach our full capacity of students. Let God move you! Your lives will be changed forever. Above that, you may be one who changes another's life. Words cannot tell the love you will feel. Please pray about joining ONE-BY-ONE. You can make a difference.