By Alexis Wilson

People move to Arroyo Grande, California, for one of two reasons: To work in the fields, or to retire to the golf courses.

The two cultures--immigrant workers and retiring professionals--rarely intersect. But the blossoming of a ministry at a local church has set them on a collision course that is benefiting all involved.

Five years ago, leaders at Grace Bible Church struggled with how to infuse significance into the daily lives of its community of retired people. "Many of our people had achieved great success and were settling into the second half of their lives," says Associate Pastor Gary Clatterbuck, minister to adults 50 and older. "We wanted to help them do that with a measure of meaning, to have more purpose than how many golf games they got in that day."

Sharon Kulenschmidt reads to a first grade class.

Church leadership named the ministry "Grace Alive" because "we wanted to make clear that this was a ministry for people who were vital and vibrant," Gary says. "We wanted to get involved in the community and help leave a legacy for the next generation."

As they were formulating ideas, Gary read a story in the local newspaper about the test scores at North Oceano, a nearby elementary school. The school had the lowest scores of any in the county. With that nugget of information and a budding idea, Gary went to visit the school principal.

"We chatted a bit, and then he asked, 'Why are you here?' " Gary says. "I told him I noticed they had the lowest test scores in the county. He said, 'Yeah, we know that. Why are you here?' I told him I wanted to know how we could help. He was shocked by my statement."

Walking By Faith Knowing the church had dozens of potential volunteers, Gary offered tutors, mentors and teacher's helpers from among retired CEOs, rocket scientists, PhDs and teachers with up to 30 years of experience.

"A group of evangelical Christians, no matter how qualified, wanting to walk into a school can naturally be suspect in some people's minds," he says. "But we told them our only goal was to give our lives to the younger generation. In spite of their suspicion, they decided to invite our people to be involved."

The initial group of 30 volunteers discovered several basic needs. California law restricts bilingual education, so all classes must be taught in English. With a high Hispanic population in the area, many children went home to parents who only spoke Spanish, leaving them with no homework help. "Many of our people did homework with children or listened to them read," Gary says.

Measurable Success
The staff's initial cautions about the initiative soon melted into gratitude, and even the greatest skeptics began calling for more volunteers. The schoolchildren received more than just the blessings of new relationships . . .