by Oscar Garcia ’22
Zach Dickey has been an active part of Centerpoint Community Church for over a decade. As associate pastor, he helps people get connected into the larger church community; as the outreach coordinator, Zach’s responsibilities also include organizing church events that engage the community beyond the church. Zach is in constant communication with other churches, organizations, and the city government as he builds trust and coordinates events that meet community needs.
Centerpoint wants to be the center point of the Waterville community, Zach explains. To accomplish this, church members can’t expect people to come to them—they have to go to the community. In order to do this, Centerpoint partnered with the city and Faith Evangelical Free Church for an Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, the chocolate eggs that were part of the hunt began to melt and left a mess on the tennis courts, but Zach and members of the church made sure to clean it up properly, further fortifying the trust of the city and other churches.
Another partnership Zach helped to establish is with the South End Neighborhood Association. SENA hosts the South End Night Out every summer with an average attendance of 1,000 people. Zach partnered with SENA to distribute backpacks filled with school supplies like colored pencils, pens, and notebooks to anyone who needs them. Zach made it clear to them that Centerpoint is only there to help, and because it is SENA’s event, they don’t have any agenda besides giving out backpacks. Zach’s ability to set clear guidelines with partners, and to follow through on commitments, establishes trust that creates the possibility for future collaboration.
Centerpoint hosts an annual Halloween Trick-or-Treat at the church for families who want a safe place to take their kids; last year, about 2,000 people came. Zach also coordinates the church’s Thanksgiving Baskets program He contacts schools and organizations to ask if they know of any people in need of items for Thanksgiving. Zach and other Centerpoint volunteers stuff around 150 baskets with the items requested, which the schools and organizations then distribute.
Hearing Zach talk about all he does made me anxious. How does one juggle all these responsibilities and execute them so well? I had to ask Zach if he ever gets discouraged by the fact that, despite all the efforts being done by Centerpoint and other organizations in Waterville, there is still an abundance of unmet need. “Everything is one step at a time. … It’s hard for me to see that there are so many people that do have needs… but it never discourages me because I know that we’re doing the very best we can and that we will get better.”
When I asked Zach if he grew up going to church, he told me that the only times he had missed Sunday service was the week he was born and the day his family moved houses. This dedication is not surprising, considering everything Zach does at Centerpoint. As a kid, though, Zach would go to church without thinking about the reason or significance of it. It wasn’t until he decided to attend Centerpoint at the age of 18 that he began to form a sense of what his faith means to him.
Zach began to develop a relationship with God. He realized that going to church isn’t just about practice, but an active engagement with God and love for Jesus. He also realized that he needs to live a life filled with care for others. At 19, Zach felt the call to ministry and was getting ready to leave Waterville to study at a Bible college, but he didn’t want to leave home. Fortunately, he was offered the youth pastor position at Centerpoint and remains an active member in the community ready to help in any way he can. “I love this city and I love Jesus. Because of my love for Jesus, I have so much love for the people of Waterville… I despise the Maine winter, but I cannot imagine living anywhere else.”