Robert Grant has an unusual Sunday School class at Lexington Baptist Church.

The “Camo” class is for men from 18 to 70+ years old. Some are married, some single with professions ranging from businessmen, administrators and real estate agents to grocery store workers.

But they are all in for helping other men.

In December 2018 the Camo class decided on a Christmas project for homeless men in Columbia. They collected money and purchased 80 $5 gift cards to hand out at Finley Park where many of the homeless live.

An overwhelming number of people showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, in hopes of getting a gift card.

Only after the fact, someone told them they could have found themselves in an unsafe situation. Grant said the Lord must have been watching over them, because the men who came out were courteous, respectful and even protective.

Last year, the class approached Mark Davis, the Men’s Ministry manager at Oliver Gospel Mission.

Oliver Gospel Mission in Columbia is a multi-faceted ministry for men, women and their children. They offer a homeless ministry, addiction recovery services, emergency food and shelter, help finding a job, and have partnerships with churches and other groups for various ongoing projects.

The class raised enough money for 93 $10 gift cards for OGM. They shared a meal and witnessed to the men last December.

Grant said because of the annual project, the class was more mission-focused and look forward to doing more in the future.

His class will use their annual sporting clays shooting event at Palmetto State Armory Shooting range in Swansea to raise more money for OGM.

The event is open to the public and will be held on Saturday, Mar. 28 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

There is a fee which includes admission to the facility, lunch and 100 clay targets. For registration and more details, contact Robert Grant at RFGChurchAdm@ gmail.com .

For more information, visit https://www.olivergospel.org/ .