{"id":32111,"date":"2019-03-29T17:01:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T22:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mbcpathway.local\/?p=32111"},"modified":"2019-03-26T10:38:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T15:38:37","slug":"traveling-cooking-ministry-a-labor-of-love-whether-its-cheeseburgers-or-pancakes-matt-coley-is-ready-to-fire-up-the-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2019\/03\/29\/traveling-cooking-ministry-a-labor-of-love-whether-its-cheeseburgers-or-pancakes-matt-coley-is-ready-to-fire-up-the-grill\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling cooking ministry a labor of love: Whether it\u2019s cheeseburgers or pancakes, Matt Coley is ready to fire up the grill"},"content":{"rendered":"

HERMITAGE \u2013<\/strong> A lot of planning went into the youth conference that took place at First Baptist Church, here, March 15-17. With more than 500 students and adults from multiple churches registered, the speakers had to be lined up, activities planned, worship scheduled, breakouts sorted, and accommodations booked. One thing organizers didn\u2019t have to worry about was how those students would be fed. Matt Coley took care of that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

HERMITAGE \u2013 Matt Coley, a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in California, prepares bacon for a youth conference at First Baptist, Hermitage. Coley\u2019s cooking ministry travels the state preparing meals for church events. Pathway photo by Brian Koonce<\/p><\/div>\n

Coley, a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in California, travels the state with three propane cooktops wherever he\u2019s invited. If the church will provide the food, he\u2019ll do all the cooking. For the Hermitage Youth Conference, he began cooking 8 hours before anyone arrived. By Sunday afternoon, he\u2019d prepared 230 cheeseburgers, 30 lbs. of hot dogs, 1,000 pancakes, 80 lbs. bacon, and 80 lbs. of tortillas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coley sees it as a labor of love.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2011, the electrician for the State of Missouri saw area churches unable to safely and efficiently prep meals for large events, so he decided to take on the challenge. He bought a used 48-inch gas griddle and modified it so that he could easily load it into a trailer and set up shop outside wherever God led him. The next year, he found that the set up reduced time spent cooking and enabled others to go about their ministry, so he bought another 48-inch griddle. He began volunteering to cook for events like First Baptist\u2019s annual youth conference, and was soon hauling his griddles to various buildings and missions projects around the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coley said he sees it as his answer to 1 Peter 4:10, \u201cEach one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God\u2019s grace in its various forms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoy doing this ministry, and I thank God for blessing me with it,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe God gifted me with the ability, talents and interest to design and construct the equipment and the time to travel, operate and maintain this equipment. I give Him the glory!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Coley has since added a third griddle, a commercial deep fryer, and a 48-inch charbroiler (a second one is in the works), all so those ministering, worshipping or learning don\u2019t have to take time wondering how and when they\u2019ll get a hot meal. He only cooks for church functions hosted by Baptist churches that do not have the means to cook for larger groups of people. There is no charge to the host church, \u201cexcept for some good food and good fellowship\u201d and possibly a volunteer assistant. (While he can\u2019t provide the food, Coley is more than willing to offer suggestions about what to buy.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like to keep a simple menu: pancakes, bacon, sausage, fried eggs, charbroiled or fried burgers, hotdogs, corndogs, and French fries,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

To contact Coley about cooking for a church event, email him at mattco58@yahoo.com or call or text him at 660-888-9245. The minimum group size is 30 people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sunday afternoon, he\u2019d prepared 230 cheeseburgers, 30 lbs. of hot dogs, 1,000 pancakes, 80 lbs. bacon, and 80 lbs. of tortillas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":32112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[177,17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTraveling cooking ministry a labor of love: Whether it\u2019s 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