Brandy, a rising seventh-grader, approached flag football camp in a black t-shirt that matched her disposition. She wasn’t confident that she would fit into the afternoon camp, sponsored by First Church, Williston, N.D., and organized by 13 men from a co-ed Sunday School class at Lexington Church, Lexington, S.C.
During prayer time, campers put an arm on a teammate’s shoulder “as a reminder that we can’t do anything by ourselves.”“As I welcomed Brandy to camp, she said, ‘I am a failure at everything I do,’ ” said Chuck Cordovano, one of the South Carolina men organizing and leading the camp. “I told her that she was not a failure, that God loved her, and she should just try and have fun.”
On Friday’s last day of camp, Brandy – now wearing a bright, flowered t-shirt – was beaming as she received an award for the fastest in camp.
“That was one of the many ways I saw God at work during this week,” Cordovano said.
In 2001, Scott Vaughan, an adult Sunday School teacher at Lexington Church, was serving as director of marketing for the South Carolina Convention. He traveled to Wyoming that summer, assisting the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention, in Casper, with communication and promotion training. During the trip, he also visited with directors of mission and a handful of Wyoming churches.
“I was moved by the potential for harvest in smaller communities compared to the very small number of churches and available workers,” Vaughan said. “I felt this calling to return with volunteers, specifically to help churches coordinate recreation camps for children.”
“Initially, I prayed for God to use me in South Dakota, helping churches connect with rural poverty, especially among Native Americans,” Vaughan said. “Now, I realize the fallacy of that prayer. I should have prayed with arms wide open: ‘God send me where you can work through me.’ He knew the passion of my heart for that part of our country.”
For a decade, Vaughan faced closed doors, lost email, and unreturned telephone calls as he worked to connect with and create mission opportunities in the western U.S. corridor of the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming.
In August 2010, he went to lunch with friend Tim Yarbrough, who at the time served on the North American Mission Board staff and currently is editor of The Arkansas Baptist News in Little Rock.
“We met in Atlanta, and I just unloaded on Tim,” Vaughan said. “He caught 10 years of frustration over a salad at Chili’s restaurant.”
Yarbrough encouraged Vaughan to “step back and let God lead the trip,” Vaughan said of the lunch. “That was the advice I would have given someone else; I was just blind to giving it to myself. In reality, it wasn’t that others were preventing my trip; it was God waiting on me to put His vision over my vision. Driving back to South Carolina, I stopped at the Savannah River and gave it all to God.”
Doors began to open.
Yarbrough pointed Vaughan to Sports Crusaders, a sports camp mission organization in Holts Summit, Mo. Sports Crusaders’ Tricia Alberts introduced Vaughan to pastor Ashley Olinger, a former church planter from Canada, who had moved to Williston, N.D. in 2010 as the church’s new pastor. Olinger and his wife, Lisa, had a successful track record in providing sports camps for children in communities where they served.
“As another example of God at work in this, Scott found the only person that I know in the entire state of Missouri,” Olinger said.
Olinger and Vaughan chose a date for the camp in mid-July 2011, and Olinger expressed his desire for a flag football camp. A morning session would be offered for K-3 grade children, and an afternoon session would be offered for 4-6 grade children.
“It was a bit overwhelming to realize that a decade of waiting was over, a mission trip was on the calendar, and I had no volunteers on board to go with me,” Vaughan said.
Lexington Church has a history of missions support that extends beyond its support of the Cooperative Program. For almost 20 years, the church has sent volunteer mission teams to Africa, Central Asia, South America, eastern North America, and regularly supports local missions at home. The church also has a full-time missions minister with dedicated staff support and a lay-driven Global (Missions) Impact Team.
With mission trip in hand, Vaughan approached the church’s missions team, received approval for the trip, and the trip was included in the 2011 missions budget. As it came time to enlist volunteers, Vaughan began connecting with Belinda Jolley, director, Adult Ministry Office, South Carolina Baptist Convention. Jolley began including Vaughan in small think-tank meetings around the idea of missional Sunday School.
Jolley said, “Through recent conversations focusing around small missional communities many Sunday School classes and small groups are refocusing on why they exist. Ed Stetzer, (LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville) said missional Sunday School classes must move people from sitting in rows (as passive spectators), to sitting in circles (as active participants) to going out in the world (living on mission).”
“As Belinda began talking about Sunday School classes going on mission, I wanted to jump out of my chair,” Vaughan said. “We had already been talking about this very idea in our Sunday School class. We so desperately want to be more than an hour on Sunday morning and a Christmas party. We want class members engaged in missions. I just never dreamed of taking that idea beyond Lexington. Missions is something that churches do; Sunday School classes don’t do missions.”
So, in late 2010, Vaughan stood in front of his Sunday School class and rolled out the vision for the North Dakota flag football camp.
“I told them that I needed 12 good men to sign on for the trip,” Vaughan said. “I told them that I was praying for 12 men willing to give up a week’s vacation, a week from work, and a week from family to go with me and serve families in Williston, ND.”
Within a week, Vaughan had 20 names of men interested in attending an information meeting.
“I looked at the list one night, in the quiet of my office, and cried over it,” Vaughan said. “Many of the men I didn’t know particularly well. Some of them were men I specifically prayed to see on the trip. Some were my friends, who said, ‘If it’s important to you then it’s important to me.’ Only four on the list had ever been on a mission trip.”
As planning began, travel deposits were needed, and commitments were required, the group paired back to 15 men. Within a month of the trip, two others had to drop out because of work and family requirements. That left 13 men paid and committed to the trip.
“One day, Derek Miller, whispered to me, ‘Do you realize that God sent you the 12 men that you initially prayed for? You asked for 12 good men, and you got 12 good men.'” The 12 men included Jimmy Kinard, a high school football and basketball coach; Larry Grady, a high school football coach; Allen Mitchell, a former University of South Carolina Gamecock quarterback; Dan Martin, a former offensive lineman at Virginia Military Institute; and men, like Vaughan, who are tenured leaders in community recreation sports, educators, and committed dads. Two of 13 volunteers missed wedding anniversaries to be on the trip; two other men missed celebrating children’s birthdays back at home.
As news got out about the trip, Vaughan fielded questions about how he chose North Dakota as the mission trip location. “I told people that I didn’t choose it – God chose it.”
One day in Sunday School, volunteer Joe Maciaszek approached Vaughan and said, “Do you realize what’s happening in Williston, ND?” Vaughan began doing research and discovered Williston was in the middle of an oil boom – people were surging to the small community in northwest North Dakota by the thousands.
“Until we got there, we really didn’t understand it,” Vaughan said. “This is a town of 11,000 expected to grow to 38,000 in about five years. They don’t have the infrastructure for that rapid growth. Unemployment is only 2 percent there, but the cost of living is extremely high. There is very little housing; the Wal-Mart parking lot is a campground. People are renting bedrooms for a $1,000 per month. You can make $14 an hour at fast food restaurants. Man camps are springing up to house the workers, and men outnumber women 5:1. Many men are leaving families in other parts of the country, traveling to North Dakota alone because work is there but family housing is not. We went to a restaurant one night and there was a 20-minute wait at 10 p.m.”
As plans for the camp came together, Vaughan realized he would need financial support beyond the church’s contribution and the $620 that each man paid for the trip.
Vaughan stood again in front of his Sunday School class.
“Several families, including those that dropped from the trip, had said they wanted to help financially,” Vaughan said. “I decided to open up that opportunity to the entire class. It had to be a class project; not just the project of 13 men from class. I told them that we wanted this camp to be a first-class representation of committed believers on mission with Jesus.”
The class responded. Class members donated more than $3,000 in cash and gifts for the children at camp. All funds were routed through the church’s Global Impact Team and church treasury. Class contributions provided campers with a daily gift, including a Frisbee, water bottle, sports bracelet and a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) New Testament sports Bible. Funds were also used to provide lunch and dinners for the team, which were prepared in the Williston church’s fellowship hall. Volunteer Don West, a food services salesman by profession, was the team’s quartermaster and cook. The men were housed at the El Rancho Hotel in Williston, and the hotel slashed its rate by an estimated 80 percent.
“We were stunned at the generosity of the hotel,” Vaughan said. “We had no idea of their support until we got the final bill, but those folks made a huge financial sacrifice for the camp. Because of that support, our team only needed about half of our church’s budget designation for the trip.”
Williston pastor Olinger said his church had never sponsored a camp or project of this kind in Williston, and he didn’t believe a free missional camp had ever been offered in Williston. There was no track record, and expectations were cautious.
“We gathered at the church on Sunday night, for prayer and conversation, before the camp began on Monday,” Vaughan said. “We prepared ourselves for very few children to show up the next day, but we experienced a peaceful contentment that God would send who He needed to be there.”
By week’s end, 52 children had registered for and participated in the camp. The number of campers on Friday doubled the participation on Monday.
“It was perfect,” Vaughan said. “We had a great coach-to-player ratio, and were able to talk with the children and encourage them beyond the football instruction and play.”
One rising fifth grade boy came to camp dressed for his baseball game later in the evening. Lexington volunteer Jay Tompkins, arguably one of the winningest coaches in Lexington Dixie Baseball, struck up a friendship with the boy’s family. From Tuesday-Friday, the boy – and a handful of his friends – came to the football camp 30 minutes early for Tompkins to help with baseball skills.
Vaughan said one mom approached him on Friday regarding her sixth grade son.
“She told me that her son was experiencing self-esteem issues, and was worn down by upside-down life in Williston,” he said. “She told me that he had missed a team practice to be at camp because he felt such a sense of encouragement and support: ‘I’ve loved hearing you men call these children by name, and watching you play with them like you’ve known them their whole lives.'”
There was a spiritual element to each camp session, including an opening and closing prayer, and a devotion at the midpoint. Each man on the trip either led a devotion or a prayer, and volunteers most did both at some point.
Larry Grady, one of the true football coaches on the trip, began and ended each camp session with campers and mission volunteers on one knee, praying together. Grady reminded campers, “We put a hand on our team-mate as a reminder that we can’t do anything by ourselves.”
At a hot dog supper for campers and parents on Friday evening, Williston pastor Olinger closed the camp with prayer. During the prayer, Grady punched Vaughan and pointed to the children. Each of them was kneeling with arms around one another – this time undirected to do so.
“I think every man there was glad we had sunglasses,” Vaughan said. “I believe every man on the trip shed tears of joy and purpose at some time during those camp sessions.”
As meaningful as the camp, the Lexington team gathered in the evenings to study and discuss C.J. Mahaney’s book The Cross Centered Life. The evening time was led by Martin, who also leads a men’s small group within the Sunday School class.
“When I ask the men where they most saw God at work on this trip, all of them mentioned the evening time with one another,” Vaughan said. “One night in particular, we were just moved to get on our knees and pray together in the center of the hotel banquet room. Our lives were welded together by the Holy Spirit during this week so far from home.”
As the week ended, pastor Olinger and wife Lisa joined the South Carolina team for a traditional Low Country Boil in the church fellowship hall. Olinger introduced the idea of an annual partnership between the church and Sunday School class.
“No one likes to be a guinea pig,” Olinger said, “But, that is exactly what the group from Lexington Baptist Church was. As far as I could tell, no church in Williston had ever tried to use sports camps as an outreach tool until LBC partnered with us to do just that! As a church planter, I was used to doing things that had never been done before, and operating with a lot of uncertainty. However, not all groups of volunteers can do that comfortably. I am pleased to say that the team from Lexington was a blessing from start to finish.
“Not knowing how many kids we would have, what the weather would be like, or even how much the hotel would cost for sure, Scott Vaughan led a great group of men to North Dakota anyways,” Olinger said. “It took all of one day to know that I wanted them to come back – their hearts were right – their attitudes were right – and the bonus . . . they even knew how to teach football. Their impact over the week on the lives of the children as well as people from our church will not be forgotten soon. The local newspaper came out to see what a bunch of guys from SC were doing way up here.”
“This,” Olinger said. “was a successful project and we are looking forward to seeing them again next year.”
“There’s no question that we plan on going back next summer (2012) and beyond,” Vaughan said. “To my core, I know that God is calling us to be there on mission. It may not be the same 13 men; it may even be two smaller teams at two different times. We are stepping back into a time of prayer. God will reveal how He wants the church there to connect with the community, and our Sunday School class will then step in with volunteers to help.” In debriefings within his own church, Vaughan is proposing the partnership to the church’s Global Impact Team, and is confident it will be approved.
The South Carolina convention’s Jolley said, “The V (Sunday School) Class is a great example of people on mission with God. They know that studying the Bible, as critical as it is to one’s spiritual growth, is not enough. Believers must live out what they discover from God’s Word.
“This group of men was willing to give of their personal time and resources to invest in a community through a sports camp,” she said. “They could have easily dismissed this opportunity thinking most of these people may never come to South Carolina – even fewer will ever come to Lexington Baptist Church. ?However, living with a “sent” mind and heart, God commands disciples of Jesus to build God’s Kingdom wherever and in whatever form that may be. This is not the first time this church or this Sunday School class is living the missional mindset through Bible study groups, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Vaughan, a licensed minister, is a national church communication strategist. He is donating his time to First Church Williston toward helping create a community ministry for the church. Strengthening the communication will help strengthen the church’s outreach to Williston, including promotion of future camps.
The mission team included: Rick Carter, Chuck Cordovano, Larry Grady, Jimmy Kinard, Joe Maciaszek, Dan Martin, Derek Miller, Allen Mitchell, Patrick Smith, Jay Tompkins, Don West, Scott Williams, and Vaughan. The men are part of The V Class at Lexington Baptist Church (www.thevclass.com). The V Class began in 2000 with eight members, and has grown to more than 200 members and regular guests with an attendance-to-enrollment percentage of 58-65 percent on Sundays. About 20 percent of the class members also serve in other church ministries on Sunday mornings. As part of its missional direction, the class has ongoing partnerships with a local food and clothing pantry, local law enforcement, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Testimonials from the Volunteers:
“I saw God at work during our nightly book study discussions.? More specifically when Allen (Mitchell) and I returned to our motel room we would continue our discussions deep into the night.? Those moments reminded me of how we are taught that where two or more are gathered in Jesus name he is also there.” – Jimmy Kinard.
A Sunday school class at Lexington Church stepped out of the traditional “hour on Sunday morning and a Christmas party” mentality to organize a missional sports camp in North Dakota.“There’s an old saying ‘I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out.’ My saying isn’t quite as good, but it was neat having a baseball camp break out at a football camp; not to mention getting to know Cito and his family. What I really want to concentrate on for my testimony is the money aspect and how God is faithful with your expenses when you step out in faith with your time. Money was not going to prevent me from going to North Dakota. As the time grew closer and bills started stacking up, it was getting clearer and clearer that the July Discover card bill was not going to get paid off. Now there are two things I’m not a fan of: Paying interest and letters from the IRS. On July 1, I received a letter from the IRS. The letters IRS caused me to momentarily forget about the Discover card bill. As I fearfully opened the letter from the IRS, I discovered that I had made a $711 error on my taxes and that I would receive a check in four to six weeks. As good as that news was it wasn’t going to be soon enough to pay off the Discover bill before I left for North Dakota. However, God is greater than letters from the IRS. Following the July 4 weekend, I once again went to my mail box and there was the $711 refund. It took four days to receive it – not four weeks! Good-bye Discover bill; hello North Dakota.” – Jay Tompkins.
“What struck me the most is the personal and spiritual growth we all experienced as we shared and felt one another’s hardships. This is the bonding that occurs when grown men let down their protection shields and experience raw emotion at a deeper level.. The second aspect that struck me is that we may have been a part of a new mission vision for Lexington Baptist Church. By that I mean that future mission trips may originate at the Sunday School Class level and not at a church level. We may have been the pioneers. Finally, to witness the growth of the campers at a confidence level, team work, and certainly at a spiritual point will never be forgotten. We need to continually pray for these kids and that somehow they will pursue salvation in Christ as a result of our efforts that week.” – Joe Maciaszek.
“The thing I thought was neat was (Williston pastor) Ashley clearing the air (among parents and the church) that we weren’t getting paid and this wasn’t our full-time job. Obviously the camp came across as being well organized and professional to the parents. The kids had a blast or they wouldn’t have kept coming back. God was at work putting our group together, especially through Larry (Grady) and Jimmy (Kinard).” – Allen Mitchell
“While we all agreed that ‘you just can’t coach goofy’ there was some amount of maturity growth shown by kids like Caleb and Dylan over the week’s period. The biggest things that drove it home for me was: (1) the perfect combination of men/personalities chosen by God for this trip; and (2) the way a bunch of guys who didn’t really know each other that well gelled together, particularly through our evening book study. One more note and I’ll step down, because our return flight was delayed, I was given the opportunity to witness to a guy who I hadn’t talked to in close to two years. If our flight had been on time he would have called right after we took off, gotten my voice mail, and may not have left a message or attempt to call back.” – Dan Martin
“God at work moments were plentiful. One was the book reviews at the end of the day – to see that there were other men in the same condition as me was very encouraging. The book itself was special as I mentioned. It helped me to get out from under the weight of some things I had been trying to carry on my own. I was also really amazed at several kids, but Joe (a camper) really struck me the first day. I heard him on multiple occasions telling other kids, “It is ok, no one’s perfect” when they made mistakes. Wasn’t that exactly what we were learning with our evening book study? Joe, a child, exemplified the grace that we were all trying to find.” – Rick Carter
“God at Work” moments are plentiful to me.?I was convinced, in the Spring, when the trip was in danger due to lack of accommodations that God would provide and He would have awesome things in store for this trip that we could not begin to comprehend.?I was struck by the fact that there was a prediction of rain during the week that not only threatened the camp but could have flooded the town.?That did not take place.? As Larry (Grady) indicated, the times of prayer were special as we went along during the week as people began to put their arms around each other and even gathered to?put a hand on shoulders?during pastor Ashley’s closing prayer.?I was also struck by the sportsmanship of children like Joe and Carter.” – Derek Miller
“I’ve been in our class for almost a year now and David McGehee is the only person I really know.? It felt a lot different in class (upon our return) after getting to know these other guys. It would have taken someone like me years to get to know that many people.” – Scott Williams