What is Construction Workers Christian Fellowship?

Transcription

1 Construction Workers Christian Fellowship Spring 2014 What is Construction Workers Christian Fellowship? Construction Workers Christian Fellowship is a unique ministry to and through people in construction. We minister to construction workers through evangelistic and discipleship initiatives (we ll feature some of these in future issues). And our ministry through construction people is well known. Most folks think of our helping hands on construction and maintenance projects for churches, Christian camps, and missionary agencies as the main work of Hard Hats for Christ, even though that nickname originally applied just to groups of men who met on large, industrial construction sites for prayer before work, or at lunch or off-site for Bible study and fellowship. In this issue we feature one of our many outstanding RV ers for Christ couples, Rolan & Lee McKay. Many of our projects have benefitted from mobile volunteers RV ers for Christ, even though they may have described themselves as Hard Hats for Christ. It s really all the same, isn t it? Well, maybe not so much anymore. In recent years the Lord has added diversity to our unity. Beginning in 2011 with the formation of Building In Youth, we ve introduced several new ministry divisions, including the SAT5 Corps a legacy ministry for churches to impact their local communities through works of kindness and service and Heaven & Earth Movers site preparation and landscaping work specialists. You ll be hearing more about them in future issues as well. Though we ll certainly retain the name Hard Hats for Christ, this expansion and specialization of the ministry is why you're seeing and hearing us refer to the overall ministry by its original name: Construction Workers Christian Fellowship. We Received More Than We Gave Over 20 years ago Rolan and Lee McKay lived in the foothills north of Fresno, California. They often drove on the back roads to the town of Oakhurst. This led them past a church that was under construction. For over a year they noticed that there were several recreational vehicles in the parking lot. They eventually learned that the RVs belonged to a group of volunteers. They were living there while helping to build the church. It seemed like that was something they would like to do when they retired. Years later as they were getting ready to retire, they started thinking about how they were going to fill their time. The Lord brought to their minds the RVs in the parking lot and the idea that maybe they would like to do what they had seen those people doing. When they asked their pastor if he knew about any volunteer organizations he gave them a list of three that he knew about. Hard Hats for Christ was on that list! Continued on back page

2 We have recently been encouraged while working at a camp in Florida. God really showed us that serving The Lord doesn't have a "retirement age". We saw many volunteers working for Him well past the age when most people would have felt it acceptable to stop and take it easy (into their 80's). With God's help we can have many, many more years to serve Him as we serve those who serve others. Warren & Lori Yates First Baptist Church Davis College New York This Christian College is located close to the Pennsylvania border. Many of the buildings are old and in need of repair. Hard Hat missionaries Lee and Caroline Suitter are already there with their family. No matter what your skills are, they can use your help. They have been there long enough to put in many new windows and repair some bathrooms. Whether you have a weekend, a week, a month, or several weeks they would appreciate having you join them as they do the much needed work on this growing campus. Killawog, New York Just 30 minutes north of Davis College, this small church is in need of repairs. Lee Suitter is working out a schedule to get the work done. There are a lot of maintenance needs and small repairs waiting to be taken care of. Do you have some time to donate to this elderly congregation? Join us in helping them to make their building look more inviting. Some Matters for Prayer The Iglesia Edificando Vidas in Detroit, MI has a building that needs extensive repairs. They are waiting for an engineer to evaluate the structure and then make recommendations. This ministry is reaching the Hispanic community in urban Detroit. The building will greatly enhance their outreach. Please pray for the necessary funds and architectural drawings so this project can get going! South Mountain Family Camp in North Carolina is looking forward to expanding their ministry by building a lodge. The lodge will have a kitchen, meeting rooms and 8 guest rooms for small retreats. The project is in the planning stages and needs to have architectural drawings. Pray for them as they work though this phase of their project. Keep them in mind as a future opportunity to volunteer with Hard Hats for Christ & RV ers for Christ. Phone information@hh4c.org

3 First Baptist Church Riverton, Wyoming Have you been thinking about visiting Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons? This project is just a hop, skip and jump away! We hope to start late this summer. We re inviting you to consider taking a few days to work hard with us at this church to balance out your vacation. The entry way and bathrooms need to be made handicap accessible, and a larger, friendlier foyer and gathering space created. Joe Newton will be the project leader, and is looking forward to meeting you! A TEXAS SIZED PROJECT Camp Tejas in Gennings, TX has survived a hard winter! Do you remember those awful ice storms? They didn t just close schools, cause accidents and make people miss work. They also caused damage at this camp. Come help them this spring to get the needed repairs taken care of before the summer camps begin. Call the office so our project coordinator can let them know that you are available to help. Refresh our Website If you ve looked at a list of projects on our Website, you may have wondered why we don t seem to keep it up-to-date. The same thing happened to us! Though our web manager assured us it was up -to-date, what we were seeing was definitely not the latest news! Now we ve learned to refresh the page in our browser by clicking on the circular arrow usually near the top left corner of the page each time we visit the site. This assures that we are looking at the most recent version of the page. There is also a new type of project list called Ongoing Projects, which is often camp work. If you see a ministry that interests you, call Robert Atkinson for more information: RobertA@hh4c.org Up, Up, and Away! Are your curious about how missionary pilots are trained? Where do they go to learn to fly in the jungle? What kind of area is needed for this specialized training? You can get answers to these questions and many more when you join us in helping Trinity Aviation Academy with much needed classrooms, dormitory and kitchen space. This ministry is located at the foot of Mount Rainier in Eatonville, Washington. We are putting together a team right now and plan to start April 15th. Duane Atkinson will lead the sheetrock crew. Phone information@hh4c.org

4 ALASKAN ADVENTURE Sitka, Alaska Grace Harbor is starting construction on a two story addition. They need more classrooms for Sunday school. We are putting together a team to help with the framing. They would like to have everything closed in this summer. Travel to Sitka is expensive. We are working with the church to help augment travel expenses for skilled volunteers interested in helping out with this project. Please call the office so we can help work out the details Ask for Robert Atkinson. This is your chance to spend some time in this beautiful community. Sitka is on the ocean and there are only two ways to get there. You can fly in and you can ride a ferry in. The adventure starts just getting there! A River Runs Through Two Opportunities If you live in Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, or Western Montana you might be only a couple of hours away from two beautiful camps. One is located on the Spokane River and the other is on the Pend Oreille River. Location: When: May 18 How long: What: Location: When: April 14 How long: What: Pend Oreille Bible Camp Near Newport, Washington One week General clean-up in preparation for the summer. Ross Point Camp Outside of Post Falls, Idaho Approximately 6 weeks. Building bathrooms for staff. More Chances to Serve We are putting together teams of people for other projects this coming summer. Dates have not been set yet. Let us know if you are interested and we will work out times. * Village Missions Headquarters in Dallas, Oregon * Woodland Park Chapel in Portland, Oregon * Safe Family Ministries in Chehalis, Washington * Salt Mountain Ministries in Salmon, Idaho Snowbird Specials ARIZONA WINTER Kingman Bible Church Youth Haven Desert Ranch

5 Mentor Training Program Underway! Building In Youth launched their Mentor Training Program at First Baptist Church of Longview in March! Phil and Lucy Hayes have been praying and planning for this program to take root within the local church and grow. And it is! The church leadership believes this is a great opportunity for their members to connect with the next generation. The youth group will be part of the program as we work together on projects within the church family. We also are working with Love INC (Love In The Name of Christ) to build wheel chair ramps and hand rails for the needy within the surrounding communities. If you are interested in having a Mentor Training Workshop at your church, please contact us to make arrangements. The workshop is four hours in length. You can help Building In Youth earn donations just by shopping with your Fred Meyer Rewards Card! Fred Meyer donates $2.5 million each year to non-profits in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska, based on where their customers tell them to give! Here s how the program works: If you live and shop in any of the above states, sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Building In Youth at (This is the store rewards card, not the Fred Meyer credit card.) You can search for us by our name or by our number: Then, every time you shop at Fred Meyer and use your Rewards Card, you are helping Building In Youth earn a donation! You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today. If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store. For more information, please visit More than we gave Continued from pg. 1 When they called the CWCf office, Dave Williamson talked to them. He even had the opportunity to visit them in Fresno. Several months later they came to Washington to meet with the Construction Workers Christian Fellowship Board. Since that time they have been on several projects. They have remodeled, done new construction, built fences, painted and many other things. You might wonder what they think about all of this hard work during retirement. Rolan shares, Its like a brotherhood between the members and the volunteers. It s been wonderful. We have received a lot more than we gave. Lee says that they don t want recognition for anything they have done because they have been so blessed doing it. You too can be receiving rich blessings. Grab an opportunity to help out on a Hard Hats for Christ & RVer s for Christ project. Take the time to fill out an application. Meet other volunteers and CWCf missionaries. Join in the joy of serving others. Visit our website, for short video testimonials and applications.

6 A-Dollar-A-Mile Campaign What does it cost you to drive across the state? Well, if you re getting 20 miles to the gallon, and gas is around $3.50, it will cost you about $35 to go 200 miles roughly 17 or 18 cents per mile. And what if you re driving something a bit larger? Something not quite so economical? Some of your CWCf-Hard Hats for Christ missionaries are full-time RV ers. They take their home and all the tools necessary to do the job with them wherever they go. Several pull a tool trailer behind their RV, and drive a car or pickup truck separately so they can have transportation to run to the lumber yard or to the grocery store at their project destination. Dragging a 5th Wheel down the road, or towing a tool trailer behind a Class A coach can cost nearly $1/mile and that s just the fuel (and maybe an oil change)! Sometimes the ministries we serve are not able to help out with the travel costs of our missionaries. That s why we re launching the A-Dollar-A-Mile Campaign. For only a buck, YOU can push a missionary truck or RV a mile down the road (towing a trailer)! Send a check, or give online to your favorite CWCf missionary, or to Travel - General at by using the drop down arrow to the right of General Fund just above the Make a Donation button. Give a Buck Push a Truck!