All for One
By: Bill Rethlake, Greensburg Daily News
GREENSBURG – “To unite God’s Kingdom through worship, service, and giving throughout the local community, state, nation and world.” This is the mission statement of All For One, an inspired group of local Christians in their fourth year of putting together an organization with the motto “One Church, One Voice, One Purpose.”
Led by nineteen-year-old IUPUC student and Greensburg native Alex Sefton, All For One (A41) recognizes the tendency for churches to “stay within their own walls and forget that Christians should be united,” a paraphrase from www.a41ministry.org, the fledgling 501c(3)’s website.
“We want to unite the local churches for the purpose of worship and giving. We want to break down the denominational barriers that prevent the different churches from worshiping together. On April 16th in 2017, we had an event at the Junior High here in Greensburg called “United” with just a few bands, and the feedback we received was so positive, we’re sure this is a worthy cause,” Sefton said.
“We only had about 150 to 200 people, but we were very pleased with the attendance. It seems like they all came from different churches, so that was a good sign that it was worth pursuing,” he noted. A41 has also organized the Kickball Classic fundraiser for the organization.
A41 consists of Alex Sefton as the executive director and co-founder of the board. “We’ve got Brad Sefton (who Alex says is the “coolest, best-looking brother” of his two siblings) from First Christian Church as president and Amy Hacker as Secretary. From Community Church we have Sherri Slaven and Jose Rivera from Lifeline Wesleyan, and Mike Conk and Susan Poling from the First Baptist Church,” he said. Slaven is a co-founder and serves as vice president of the board and Conk serves as treasurer on the board.
Sefton has been focal in his organizational skills and was studying Ministry at Anderson University until he felt led to return to his hometown. “I was feeling pulled in so many directions by being part of A41 and studying all the way in Anderson, so I returned and am now studying at IUPUC as a Business and Communications Double Major.”
As well as studying full time at IUPUC, Sexton is an intern at Advancement Strategies with David Fry, the executive director of A41, and is a board member of Kids’ Closet in Greensburg. A busy young man to be sure, Sefton is obviously very driven. He spoke to that and the important role his parents play in his life.
“My parents have always been a huge impact in my life, and they always supported what I wanted to do. They have never said ‘oh, that’s not realistic’ or ‘you don’t want to pursue that’,” Sefton explained. “They always told me that I should become what I wanted and pursue it with my whole heart. I think that’s where I get a lot of my drive and determination.”
Alex is the fourth and the youngest son of Kay and Mike Sefton of Greensburg. His grandparents are Joyce and the late Jim Sefton and the late Mary and Leon Bennett. Alex says his family’s supportive nature gave him “the determination and that push to become what I want to be, and more importantly, what God is calling me to be.” He graduated in 2017 from Greensburg Community High School and served as class president.
When asked if he was going into the ministry, he said, “I thought when I got to Anderson University that maybe ‘ministry’ fit my skill set, but then I realized how different everything was that I wanted to involve myself in, so I transferred to IUPUC. I think right now, business and communications best fit my calling in life. Right now, I think I’m in the right place.”
Alex Sefton can be reached through his Facebook page or by visiting www.a41ministry.org.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-663-3111, ext 7011 or email at bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com