Missions opportunities are as close as a mouse click away

With just a few clicks, anyone can find a place to go on mission. When you take your home with you it makes it all that much easier.

"Whatever talent people have, we can use," said Eloise Rush, Georgia Campers On Mission coordinator, along with her husband, Woody Rush.

A group of mostly retired campers have a loosely formed group that supports and encourages missions. With free time and a portable home, they bring their RVs along and set up for ministry all over the state and all over the country.

"We work at Georgia children's homes, we do construction, we lead Backyard Bible Clubs. We do whatever is needed and we can go just about anywhere to do it," said Rush, a member of Rehoboth Church in Perry.

When Woody Rush retired in 1971 from the U.S. Air Force, the family decided to do a little traveling. They started in a tiny camper, but have graduated over the years to a larger, more comfortable one.

"At first, we wanted to witness on camp grounds as we traveled, but later we realized we could do missions. With an RV we can go anywhere," she said.

At one time a New York trip lasted seven months while Woody Rush served as pastor of a church that had dwindled to two members.

"You meet people you'd never meet before," said Rush.

Later when the COM organization began in Georgia, the Rushes decided to get involved. Currently they serve as coordinators, setting up ministry opportunities and keeping in touch with about 50 Georgia members.

Their job of connecting volunteers with ministries got easier earlier this year. A new website from the North American Mission Board makes just about any ministry opportunity just a few clicks away. Since its beginnings in 1999, www.thebridge.namb.net has helped match nearly 50,000 volunteers with about 1,100 ministry projects.

This year, after re-working the site, churches, associations, and state conventions can enter their projects into the system directly, cutting down the time it takes to reach the volunteers. All projects are verified as Southern Baptist before being posted.

"They have a list of projects all over the nation. It's so easy," Eloise Rush said.

A church or ministry can post its projects in as little as half an hour and volunteers can find a place to serve faster than that.

So, if you're looking to teach basketball in Ypsilanti, Michigan, or build a church in Vermillion, South Dakota or even be a camp nurse in Flagler, Colorado, take a few minutes and click your way to ministry.

The website has been revamped this year to streamline matching volunteers with ministry. The opening page has a project search engine for project types and locations in the United States and Canada. The website also provides links to other short term volunteer opportunities for both students and adults.