HUNTERSVILLE – Determined to make a difference in local students’ lives, members of Relevant Church more than surpassed their pastor’s goal for the church’s second annual backpack drive.

The church holds services at Hopewell High School, 11530 Beatties Ford Road, and has formed a partnership with Principal Victoria Hicks and Hornets Nest Elementary School, at 6700 Beatties Ford Road.

During its first Back-to-School Campaign last year, members raised enough money to buy 50 backpacks filled with supplies for students at Hornets Nest.

“This year, I truly felt that we needed to raise the bar and allow God to do something amazing,” Relevant’s pastor, the Rev. Kalum Cavazos, wrote in an email. “So in July I stood in front of our church and challenged them to give and watch God do the rest.”

The members launched a donation campaign and held a bake sale in Birkdale. Members set their goal at $1,000, enough to buy 100 backpacks for Hornets Nest students. On Aug. 14, at the end of the campaign, the church had $2,000, enough to buy the 100 backpacks and $1,000 in supplies for teachers at Hornets Nest and Hopewell.

“We feel too many students in the school system are lacking what they need,” Cavazos wrote. “We are so excited to see how God took our audacious dream and made it a huge reality.”