Memorable Church/Mission Projects
noted by Torrey H. Brinkley
During the course of several church and mission experiences, certain projects stand out as challenging, productive and rewarding. The following are listed as examples of ministry opportunities which can be undertaken by ordinary churches with ordinary resources and personnel.
1) Salt Cellar was a ministy undertaken by 4 small Colorado churches lying in the same geographic community, who individually were not able to provide for a significant ministry to the high school youth connected to their congregations. We planned one weekly youth meeting, visited each of the 4 churches on Sundays, and did a lot of extra-curricular activities. Several youth from this ministry later went on to serve as pastors/missionaries in other places.
2) Bible reading marathons were a challenge mostly presented to youth, who had either Spring Break time off, or summer free in town, or at an isolated church camp. It was easy to get volunteer adults to help chaperone the non-stop readings that took up to 88 hours to complete reading thru the entire Bible. Food & exercise & sleep were allowed for people to keep fresh ( done in Colorado, Kansas & Oklahoma).
3) Back Seat film project was initiated to help identify a need in a locality (Wichita, KS), but which could have national impact. Loneliness in society became the subject matter, and a partial TV crew was used to get interviews, hire some actors, and edit a finished project that won national awards & international recognition. The same film was translated into Spanish, and toured with a professional psychiatrist throughout the Iberian peninsula.
4) Teacher training classes for local church Sunday School teachers (& youth leaders) were accomplished using nationally prepared materials. Workshops usually took all weekend, and attendance & interest was always high. We ran these seminars in a variety of towns & cities in several states.
5) Rebuilding homes in Gulfport, MS after Hurricane Katrina seemed to be a wonderful opportunity for men to bond together, see the enormity of the tasks ahead, and then to accomplish one job after another, all the while laboring as Christ's servants to others. Scriptural teaching of Nehemiah re-building the wall of Jersusalem served as our teaching backdrop each evening.
6) Poolside ministry to searching youth in San Jose, CA allowed for youth steeped in the newly burgeoning drug/hippie culture (1969) to examine life's questions, and receive a Biblical answer from bold prophets like Jeremiah in the Old Testament and a book like Hebrews in the New Testament. Youth would bring new friends every day to sit next to the swimming pool & examine the evidence.
7) Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona was an isolated spot to train youth how to minister to a foreign culture, with a strange language and unusual customs/religions. After doing a Summer VBS with these pre-trained teens, bonds were formed and a world vision was captured. Many participants later went off to serve in foreign countries with their Christ-centered message.
8) During Easter Week we actually super-imposed a map of Jerusalem upon downtown Wichita, KS. We obtained permission to do a drama of Jesus night- time trial right on the downtown Courthouse steps. We carried a heavy wooden cross thru city streets, along a route similar to Jesus' labor of love for us. We also held an Easter sunrise service at the banks of a river, having fish, like Jesus did with his disciples. This did attract interest from local television crews.
9) Down thru the years, summer camps have been a wonderful opportunity to get to know youth and adults alike and to offer teaching, worship, meals and exercise in either a family or youth-centered experience. We have seen many lives changed in such camps in Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oklahoma, California and Spain down thru the years.
10) Showing Christian movies had always been a meaningful evangelistic/teaching tool. We presented Billy Graham films in a downtown Longmont, CO park, as well as Moody Science films in newly opened Bible centers in some towns in Spain. Attendance, interest, and response was always more than we could have anticipated.
11) Teaching English classes (from native speakers) to Spaniards was one vehicle that we utilized to give the public something that was not available elsewhere. A variety of missionaries participated in this endeavor, and we attempted to teach young children all the way up thru university professors. We often used the Bible as one of our English texts.
12) Teaching baseball to Spanish youth was another Saturday morning activity that allowed us to rub shoulders with youth, who would otherwise never attend a church service. During a cooling off period, stories of athletes who had faith experiences in their lives were shared.
13) Outdoor music concerts in parks in Spanish cities was another way we could reach a curious outdoor crowd. Dynamic music presentations, as well as solid biblical testimonies, gave people a thirst for knowing more about Jesus. Sometimes we tied these concerts into various town fiestas.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Traveling on 4 Tiny Rubber Tires
Europe On $5 a Day
by Torrey H. Brinkley
Yesterday was time to stop in and see what was new at the local Mini dealership. They had one vehicle all covered up in a green cloth car cover, all painted to look like a 1950s type "woodie" station wagon.
It reminded me of the green Austin Mini Clubman style van we had in 1969. We bought it used in Switzerland from a young Philadelphia guy who was leaving to go back to the States. After two months of intense studying, two of us couples took the car for a whirlwind trip down to Germany, France, England, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The silly little 2-seat parcel van, with a 850cc engine barely could get out of its own way. We generally drove on major roadways, but there were big differences between the fancy autostradas of Italy, the fast autobahns of Germany, and the pot-holed gravel roads of Spain and even Monacco at the time.
We tried to drive it over the Alps and the Pyrenees Mountains.....but it could not pull four of us over the top, so three of us got out and walked to the top of the Pyrenees. Some young guys in a tiny Honda 800cc Civic coupe (1st model) picked us up & got us up the rest of the way....to meet our friend who coaxed the Mini up the long winding hills.
Amazingly, we were able to drive the car on what is normally the Monte Carlo circuit, where they run the Formula 1 Grand Prix every year. We also drove down the Mulsanne Straight in France, where they hold the 24 Hours of LeMans yearly. We also drove on the twisty roads of Swiss Alps, where the original FWD Mini Cooper cut its teeth doing rallies in the snow. Being passed on the German autobahns by big Mercedes and Porsches going maybe 135 mph was almost embarassing . I do not remember any Ferraris that went by us at 140 mph on the Italian autostradas, but most everyone could pass us in the underpowered Mini.
It was a miracle that this humble little vehicle allowed us to get to see so much of Europe's great beauty and rich history, first-hand and close up. We were able to stop at so many wonderful historic castles, gorgeous art museums, elaborate cathedrals, and complex city centers. Actually, it's hard to remember where we parked the old buggy so we could navigate thru famous cities, usually on foot. As young-married grad school couples, we were on a tight budget and generally only spent $5 a day for food, lodging, gasoline, and sight-seeing.
The Mini also broke down in every major city in Europe, which cut into out daily expense plan. We got to see lots of sights while we waited for repairs to be done. We wound up calling the car "Ridiculous." Some auto mechanics in the Spanish dictatorship once asked us if we got this old car in a auto graveyard!! Rust holes in the floorpan allowed water to come up from the rainy roadways into the vehicle. Fortunately, we found some rubber plugs in the floor, and let the water flow back out onto the ground. Torque steer was a joke in this little car, too, even though the car did not have much torque at all. We sure could pile a lot of stuff into its box-sized shape. 4 people, 4 sleeping bags, a small tent, food & camping gear, plus our clothes went along for the 2-month ride. I think we left a few goodies behind at our school in Switzerland, which we picked up before coaxing the car back to England (its final destination point).
After arriving in London, we met up with another fellow student, whom we convinced to go back to the USA with us for the summer. We picked up next-to-new "driveaway cars" to get across the country, just paying for gasoline. Ron loved viewing everything from New York City to sunny California. He thought Pennsylvania was the prettiest state. Ron also got to go as far south as Mexico and north as Canada that summer. Afterwards, he went back to England, and continued his career as a school teacher near the eastern coast white cliffs of Dover.
Traveling back in the USA in big American cars, on broad wide highways, with gasoline at 35 cents a gallon was a far cry from our travels in highly congested Europe, where gasoline was over $2 a gallon, roads were windy, and parking was almost non-existant. We were glad, as well, to leave behind the fragile, tiny little car they called a "Mini." Now, they honor such a car in the historical murals in Mini dealerships across the world.
by Torrey H. Brinkley
Yesterday was time to stop in and see what was new at the local Mini dealership. They had one vehicle all covered up in a green cloth car cover, all painted to look like a 1950s type "woodie" station wagon.
It reminded me of the green Austin Mini Clubman style van we had in 1969. We bought it used in Switzerland from a young Philadelphia guy who was leaving to go back to the States. After two months of intense studying, two of us couples took the car for a whirlwind trip down to Germany, France, England, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The silly little 2-seat parcel van, with a 850cc engine barely could get out of its own way. We generally drove on major roadways, but there were big differences between the fancy autostradas of Italy, the fast autobahns of Germany, and the pot-holed gravel roads of Spain and even Monacco at the time.
We tried to drive it over the Alps and the Pyrenees Mountains.....but it could not pull four of us over the top, so three of us got out and walked to the top of the Pyrenees. Some young guys in a tiny Honda 800cc Civic coupe (1st model) picked us up & got us up the rest of the way....to meet our friend who coaxed the Mini up the long winding hills.
Amazingly, we were able to drive the car on what is normally the Monte Carlo circuit, where they run the Formula 1 Grand Prix every year. We also drove down the Mulsanne Straight in France, where they hold the 24 Hours of LeMans yearly. We also drove on the twisty roads of Swiss Alps, where the original FWD Mini Cooper cut its teeth doing rallies in the snow. Being passed on the German autobahns by big Mercedes and Porsches going maybe 135 mph was almost embarassing . I do not remember any Ferraris that went by us at 140 mph on the Italian autostradas, but most everyone could pass us in the underpowered Mini.
It was a miracle that this humble little vehicle allowed us to get to see so much of Europe's great beauty and rich history, first-hand and close up. We were able to stop at so many wonderful historic castles, gorgeous art museums, elaborate cathedrals, and complex city centers. Actually, it's hard to remember where we parked the old buggy so we could navigate thru famous cities, usually on foot. As young-married grad school couples, we were on a tight budget and generally only spent $5 a day for food, lodging, gasoline, and sight-seeing.
The Mini also broke down in every major city in Europe, which cut into out daily expense plan. We got to see lots of sights while we waited for repairs to be done. We wound up calling the car "Ridiculous." Some auto mechanics in the Spanish dictatorship once asked us if we got this old car in a auto graveyard!! Rust holes in the floorpan allowed water to come up from the rainy roadways into the vehicle. Fortunately, we found some rubber plugs in the floor, and let the water flow back out onto the ground. Torque steer was a joke in this little car, too, even though the car did not have much torque at all. We sure could pile a lot of stuff into its box-sized shape. 4 people, 4 sleeping bags, a small tent, food & camping gear, plus our clothes went along for the 2-month ride. I think we left a few goodies behind at our school in Switzerland, which we picked up before coaxing the car back to England (its final destination point).
After arriving in London, we met up with another fellow student, whom we convinced to go back to the USA with us for the summer. We picked up next-to-new "driveaway cars" to get across the country, just paying for gasoline. Ron loved viewing everything from New York City to sunny California. He thought Pennsylvania was the prettiest state. Ron also got to go as far south as Mexico and north as Canada that summer. Afterwards, he went back to England, and continued his career as a school teacher near the eastern coast white cliffs of Dover.
Traveling back in the USA in big American cars, on broad wide highways, with gasoline at 35 cents a gallon was a far cry from our travels in highly congested Europe, where gasoline was over $2 a gallon, roads were windy, and parking was almost non-existant. We were glad, as well, to leave behind the fragile, tiny little car they called a "Mini." Now, they honor such a car in the historical murals in Mini dealerships across the world.
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