Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Hazle and Ralph Erickson

Over the last 25 years at camp, I have made some wonderful friends; I get to mingle with the families from over a 100 different Free churches; yesterday, I attended the funeral of a dear friend: Hazle Erickson.

If one has been around the Free church for a number of years, you knew Hazle's husband Ralph better than Hazle. Ralph spent most of his ministry years in the Covenant Church; 20 years in the Des Moines Covenant Church. Ralph was larger than life; a big man with a loud voice; when he came into a room or a meeting, he was engaged. Seldom did you not hear Ralph's opinions or vision. Hazle was just the opposite; quiet, supportive, and calm encourager to those around her.

Slowly we are loosing a generation of faithful servants; they are now with Jesus. Years and years of service in the local church as pastor and wives; for many, it meant poor pay, poor housing, and lousy hours! They endured for the sake of a higher calling. They ministered in spite of their conditions. They were tough and they were called. They stuck to it even when things didn't look comfortable or positive.

I like being around people like Ralph and Hazle. They understand the big picture of ministry life; they both understood that they were in the people business and not the church business. Their passion was to see people come to a saving knowledge of Christ and then to grow and develop into solid, stable church leaders. I never sensed from either of them that they were about building the biggest and brightest church in town; they stuck with the knitting and worked with one person at a time.

I find this to be a wonderful model; the Ralph and Hazle way of building ministries; one person at a time. Caring, teaching, training, instructing, developing, pushing souls into kingdom service. I am not against large scale programs that have been copied from another successful ministry; but in reality, ministry can be simple (it can messy and complicated too), but simple when you stay focused on people and not projects or buildings.

Trust me, I need to be reminded of this quite often; attending Hazle's funeral and hearing about her faithfulness is just what I needed as I look ahead this year. Stick with building Biblical truths into individuals lives, and the ministry will blossom and be blessed.

Thanks Ralph and Hazle for your faithfulness to Hidden Acres and to the many churches that you were a part of during your 50+ years of ministry. We look at your lives with gratitude and thankfulness; may we be just as diligent in our service as you were.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A New Year

In camp life, January 1 is a big day; not because of football, or the family gatherings; it is because we start in earnest getting ready for the next summer of ministry. For me personally, I spend some of January reflecting on the past year, planning the next year, and doing some dreaming. It is no different this year.

I believe that 2008 was a good year for the camp; we were blessed with a great summer staff and key leadership that were engaged and diligent in their work. I saw young men and women arrive as children, and left after a summer of work as men and women who were finally thinking and acting on their own. A summer spent in a Christian community serving has a way of melting and blending hearts and minds together. For summer staff, friends made during the summer will be long-term friends and not just passing acquaintances; this is a result of 120 staff being committed to the same cause; that is to bring boys and girls to Jesus Christ.

The camp facility also grew during 2008. The Wester cabin was finished and used by 53 different family last year. Over and over I am hearing pastors and missionaries comment how thankful they are for such a wonderful cabin to bring their family to enjoy all the camp has to offer. We are so thankful for the Wester family for seeing such a need and responding with the funds to help us build. In addition to the cabin, we began Schlichting Inn; a 27 room lodge that will function like a motel and will provide 150 beds and a meeting space for conferences and meetings. This new facility will allow us to attract another type of group to camp; an older crowd that wants to have a bathroom and some privacy.

2009 will see the completion to the Inn, but the beginning of a new leadership program for young men. This 9 month service opportunity will be used to train young men with leadership skills that can be plugged into future ministry opportunities, or to life in general. We want to help give these young men the skills and insight into seeing a ministry in action as well as many hands on experiences that will mold them into flexible, insightful, determined young men that could do well on the mission field, or do well in a local church.

Pray with us as move ahead. Pray for us as we work at hiring just the right staff for the summer. Pray with us as we minister to countless retreat groups.