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About My Family
We have been married for 53 years and have been working in missions most of that time and have been self-funded missionaries since 2000. Jack is pastor of Big Spring Baptist Church in Big Spring, Ky., and I have been the clerk/secretary for the Salem Association of Baptists for about 40 years. I also have the privilege of being the recording secretary for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, which I also consider a ministry. We do not have any children, but have always worked with children in our ministry.
About My Ministry
We work in trailer park ministry in two locations. We have a chapel in a trailer at West Point, Ky., where we meet twice a week. We have been there about 25 years. We meet every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for a Kids’ Klub program and every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for a worship service. Every Saturday at 6:30 p.m., we take our mobile chapel to a trailer park in Flaherty, Ky.
The mobile chapel is a school bus with all the seats removed. We had it carpeted, added an air conditioner and heating unit and plastic lawn chairs for seating. We stocked it with games for the children to play. Our program on the bus includes a recreation time, a Bible lesson using flannel graph, games, pictures, etc., and then a craft time. We also serve the children Kool-Aid and cookies after the program. We find that the craft time is a very important part of our program because we always put a Bible verse on the craft and when we visit the homes, we see the craft items hanging around in the trailers so we know the adults have to read the verses sooner or later!
The hardest part of this type of ministry is being able to be part of their lives for very long because the people in these parks move in and out so often that it is hard to spend a lot of time with them. It is very hard to reach the adults, so we hope to do that through their children coming to the bus and taking some of what they learn home with them. We have the same type of program at both of our mission locations for the children. Our Sunday morning worship service at West Point is mainly for adults.
The mobile chapel is a school bus with all the seats removed. We had it carpeted, added an air conditioner and heating unit and plastic lawn chairs for seating. We stocked it with games for the children to play. Our program on the bus includes a recreation time, a Bible lesson using flannel graph, games, pictures, etc., and then a craft time. We also serve the children Kool-Aid and cookies after the program. We find that the craft time is a very important part of our program because we always put a Bible verse on the craft and when we visit the homes, we see the craft items hanging around in the trailers so we know the adults have to read the verses sooner or later!
The hardest part of this type of ministry is being able to be part of their lives for very long because the people in these parks move in and out so often that it is hard to spend a lot of time with them. It is very hard to reach the adults, so we hope to do that through their children coming to the bus and taking some of what they learn home with them. We have the same type of program at both of our mission locations for the children. Our Sunday morning worship service at West Point is mainly for adults.