Today we’d like to introduce you to Chip Walters.
Hi Chip, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Chip Walters and I am the Founder and Executive Director of Sidewalk Hope, a nonprofit ministry for children in the heart of our city. We currently operate in Spartanburg making weekly visits to four different housing developments to provide church services for children who may not have access to traditional church opportunities. We serve over 800 children each year and see an average of 300 children each week.
I grew up in Greenville, SC when Woodruff Road had nothing on it yet, and where my family would take Sunday drives “out in the country.” I attended JL Mann High School where my love of sports developed. I thought I would enjoy coaching and went to Spartanburg Methodist College because there was no limit on the number of sports you could play! While there, I was introduced to American Sign Language and the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB). I loved the students I met there and was fascinated at how the coaches communicated with their players during a game. That led me to Converse College to pursue degrees in Deaf and Comprehensive Special Education. After graduation from Converse, I began a 30-year career at SCSDB where I was able to coach; teach children who were deaf, as well as children who had multiple disabilities; and eventually, I became the director of the Fine Arts Department. In that capacity, I was able to enjoy my additional passion for the arts while teaching art and revitalizing the theatre program in a school with a rich history of theatrical performances. Seeing the incredibly talented students excel in art, music, theatre, and dance was one of the highlights of my career there. I can honestly say I loved every class I ever had the opportunity to teach.
When my father became ill, I retired from SCSDB to care for him in his final years. I was also able to take a job as a children’s minister in a small inner-city church that offered me flexible hours. It was during that ministry that I met a community of incredible children living on the south side of Spartanburg, and I learned of the rich history of the families living in the Highlands neighborhood. I quickly realized there were many needs in that community, but one need weighed heavily on my heart.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As my relationships grew with the families to whom we were ministering, I learned that many had never been to church or heard about the love of Jesus. Many families had no transportation, or they worked weekends, and that resulted in so many children wanting to ride our bus to church that we could not fit them all on that one small bus.
I remembered hearing of sidewalk ministries in Brooklyn, New York. For decades, they have used modified box trucks to take children’s church into the neighborhoods of every borough. I was able to go to New York to observe their program and, within minutes I knew we needed that type of program in Spartanburg. Hope Point Church believed in the vision and agreed to purchase our truck to get us started. Within six months, we had our first children’s church service. We brought church to the children right where they live.
Today, we continue to roll out every week, year-round, to provide a time of music, Bible stories, scripture games and feed the children during each visit. We also provide backpacks and back-to-school supplies each fall, provide Christmas Blessings for the children, and deliver blankets, pillows, toiletries, and Bibles. COVID presented many challenges for a program that gathers people together. However, the Lord showed us many new and creative ways we could meet the needs of our children and their families not only spiritually, but also physically and emotionally. Our prayer is that our long-term presence will make a positive impact on the lives of children in our community. Our blessing has been the impact these same children have brought to our lives.
When children come to Sidewalk Hope, they know they are always welcome. They are guaranteed a smile, a hug, a meal or snack bag, and a message of hope. We are blessed with amazing volunteers who love big and faithfully come every week to be conduits of God’s extravagant love for His children. I am so thankful for each one of them. For those who cannot go out with us, they serve in other ways by praying for the children and Sidewalk Hope, volunteering their time, or supporting us financially. We want each child to know how precious and valuable they are to God. We want each child to know they are not alone. Even during this recent pandemic, we were able to continue going out and sharing God’s love, feeding the children each week, encouraging them, and letting them know they are not forgotten.
Any big plans?
We are now in our sixth year of loving this next generation. Over the years, we have walked with the children through times of great joy, and we have walked with them through times of great sorrow. The hardest part of this ministry is feeling the hurt in another’s heart and knowing you can’t fix it. But we can pray with the children and their families, help connect them to needed resources, and do whatever we are able to do. Sometimes, just having someone beside you who truly cares can make the difference between giving up and having hope restored.
My desire is for the children in the heart of our city to have access to the knowledge of God’s love. Then, they can grow knowing they are worthy, and loved, and valued, and cherished. We only serve as conduits of His great love for His children. It is an honor and privilege to be a part of their lives. As to what the future holds, I only know I want to be open to whatever God has planned. My favorite attribute of God is that He is sovereign, and He already knows what lies ahead. I need to only be ready….
Contact Info:
- Email: chipwalters@sidewalkhope.org OR lindacoon@sidewalkhope.org
- Website: www.sidewalkhope.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidewalkhope
