OMAHA – Twenty members of the Omaha Baptist Church in northern Missouri took a mission trip to help Jordan (Montana) Community Church, Aug. 5-11.
Omaha pastor Kevin Collins said the mission team was between the ages of 13 and 87.
With travel, it ended up being just three work days. In town, they were known as the people that were helping the church.
Kevin Collins
“But we got a lot done in that time,” he said.
The team did maintenance work, cut trees, built a new fence, removed a carpet, painted a bedroom, and laid laminate flooring in the church parsonage rented to another lady. Then, they painted three rooms, scraped and repainted windowsills, rebuilt rear steps, and solved an on-line streaming issue at the church.
Collins and his wife, Brenda, made a pre-mission trip visit in May, and the church sent $4,000 ahead to buy materials for the projects.
Like Collins, the Jordan Community Church pastor, Jake Stroh, is a local rancher.
In addition to the church, the team also set up a bounce house borrowed from the Thousand Hills Network and set it up at the Garfield County Fair in Montana. They also offered face painting for children.
“Garfield County is the largest in area in the state and the third most sparsely populated in the country. The town of Jordan has 350 people. The church averages 25 in attendance.
“There were no rides, no events at the fair. It was basically a livestock show. People were glad there was something for the younger kids. We gained exposure for that church,” Collins said.
“One guy from our church works at Rural Electric and he was used to trimming high brush and trees. One guy, who wasn’t sure what he would do, used his welding skills on the new fence. Two other members of the church helped solve computer issues the church was having. God put everyone we needed on the team,” he said.
“Some of the team didn’t know each other well before the trip. For a lot of the team, it was their first mission trip and some are asking, ‘What’s next?’” Collins said.