Last Sunday we were invited to one of our long time partner churches. The missions committee pictured above invited us to show up on a day when they were featuring our ministry to the church. We were greeted warmly and had a good visit and spoke to the kids in church as well.
A dog team story is a good icebreaker anytime.!
The visit has made me do some musing again. We first visited this church almost 50 years ago. It kind of is typical of the support teams we developed as we prepared to go to Alaska as a family. There were a whole group of small churches in the Oregon/So WA. area connected with an organization called the American Sunday School Union (now known as American Missionary Fellowship.) This organization ministered to rural churches, mostly with volunteer pastors. Carol and I were driving each Sunday to a rural church that met in an old schoolhouse in the hills behind Camas WA. We did that for about 3 years. That's where I began to learn about preaching and ministering to people. We also were able to attend conferences and camps that were comprised of these wonderful partners.
When God called us to Alaska and we needed to develop a support base our connections with these rural pastors and churches gave us opportunities to visit and tell of our vision. So we began to learn of obscure places like Ruch, Paradise, Dodge, Provolt, Bridal Veil and the one we visited yesterday-Ladd Hill.
This church originally met in a very rundown old schoolhouse. It is located 6 miles East of Wilsonville on Ladd Hill. Now a beautiful setting populated by large, very expensive homes, horse ranches and vineyards. In those early days it was sheep farmers, farmers, small ranches. the pastor drove out from Portland which was a much harder journey before the modern roads and new freeways..
I took the above picture yesterday. The church has been completely remodeled. In fact the old schoolhouse part is now a Sunday School room. You can't see a new very large auditorium built in the back where church is now held. the parking lot is paved and the new building could hold over 200 people.
The church is now called Hope Fellowship and is connected with the Evangelical Free denomination. They have a website and as the pastor told me they sit in a new demographic with potential growth possibilities.
They pay his salary, support many missionaries and there was a atmosphere of loving warmth and love for the Savior.
This church personifies our ministry partners. Growth because of faithful
pastors who volunteered and often payed their own expenses. A vision of the American Missionary fellowship to help small communities in rural America to have a gospel witness. These churches have produced missionaries, pastors and christian families that have reached around the world with the Love of Christ. Many a church has seen the population come to their areas and they are not so rural anymore. Many now exist and grow in bedroom communities of America. God's people are everywhere.
