Life on the Road

SUMMER MEANS CAMPS. TRIPS. AND TRAVELING.

You know how May was a slow month for ministry… yeah not July or August. While the first week of July didn’t have much going on for Gospel Coffee or GO Worship, the next 4(ish) weeks are go, go, go. So we spent all of last week prepping for these upcoming weeks. And there was a lot to prep for.

Currently, we are in Colorado, but before that, we were in Montana. We packed up music stuff, camping stuff, and food stuff, and headed out the second Thursday in July in the evening to drive 16+ hours through the night, making it to Mt. Rushmore around 5:15 in the morning. The beauty and rugged high-desert land of the North West had us continually in awe of our grand Creator. Moving on from South Dakota, we drove by Crazy Horse and came to our lovely resting place for a few days.

Quaintly nestled in the Montana mountainous plains, rests a little church called Park City Baptist Church. This church has a parsonage (which I just learned is a house connected to a church to house pastors or people in the body of Christ). We were able to stay at this house or oasis, resting and exploring the beauty all around us.

Gratitude and thankfulness exploded from us regularly. When we walked into the house, comfortable and cool, we were thankful for the generosity of Pastor Chris and his wife Tracy and their church. Driving through Beartooth Pass in Montana and Wyoming, our exclaimations were abundant and our awe was evident.

Sunday we joined our brothers and sisters-in-Christ for the gathering of believers in the morning at Park City Baptist Church. Then, in the evening, we were thrilled to travel to Billings to lead worship as GO Worship and share Gospel Coffee testimony at Racer’s Set Free Church. Joe and Tara Hubbard with Standing in the Gap Ministries, were able to make it from Warrensburg, Missouri for church in Billings, Montana.

And let me tell you something. Being a part of the family of God is a beautiful, unifying, heart-filling thing.

I’ll paint the picture. We, a group of four + Eden, traveled to Montana to assist with a camp and outreach on the Crow Reservation near Fort Smith. We were invited to this opportunity with Gill Memorial Baptist Church from Marshall, Missouri, who we got connected with last summer at church camp. We traveling to Montana a couple days early, hoping to explore and rest after the 16 hour drive. We called a friend, pastor Steve, to ask about any churches willing to let us stay in their building. We brought camping pallets and sleeping bags, as we will be camping this upcoming week. We met Steve in Missouri at a Pastors Conference and at another small church in Odessa where we have lead worship and shared testimony. Steve connected us with a church in Park City who has a parsonage. So instead of sleeping on the floor of a church, we were greeted with a house with beds to let us all sleep comfortably. Then, we joined two church families for worshiping and praising our God. We were warmly welcomed to both with open arms. Finally, hearing testimony of the Set Free ministry and hearing how lives are being changed in this area left us invigorated and rejoicing with our brothers and sisters.

Any where we go in the world, we are able to connect with someone who loves and follows Jesus with their life. And what a blessing to be instantly connected to partners in the Kingdom of God and fellow members of the body of Christ.

Last week, we were in Fort Smith, Montana, joining forces with two churches. One of the churches was local, Bighorn Baptist, and one was from Marshall, Missouri called Gill Memorial Baptist Church. We were outreaching to the Crow Reservation and community with a basketball camp. We met daily in the mornings for basketball drills interlaced with lessons about Jesus and our walk as Christians. In the evenings, the students gathered at the church as our team led in worship and shared from scripture or testimony.

This week the Gospel Coffee Crew is attending NYR in Colorado. We will be retreating ourselves, camping in the Colorado mountains. After that, we are heading to Santa Fe, Missouri for a kids camp to lead worship and be the missions team and share with the students all about missions. The next week we will be in Chillicothe for another kids camp with Gill Memorial. AND, we are currently trying to plan a Young Adult retreat weekend in August before school starts back up again.

We have a full few weeks in July and August and as we head into camp, we have a grateful heart, overflowing with thanks for our Creator and His children.

I’d like to encourage you fellow believer. Lean into the other followers of Christ. We were never called to follow Christ alone. I understand some people don’t have many others around them, but try to find at least one. God never intended for man to be alone. And I pray that above all, you know that as you follow Jesus, He is with you.

Shalom from the Gospel Coffee Crew