EPPING, N.H. - Some slung hammers, others carried boards, still others licked and sealed envelopes. But the unifying theme in the backwoods of rural New Hampshire this summer was partnership in kingdom building.

Nearly 90 volunteers from 30 churches, led by Noonday Baptist Association's Builders for Christ, traveled 1,200 miles to New England to help Providence Baptist Church build its new sanctuary.

Each day began with a hearty breakfast as volunteers rolled out of their campers in a local campground and began to go over the day's work details. As the aroma of coffee began to fill the air, volunteers gathered in a circle as laypersons such as Shady Grady, a member at Pebblebrook Baptist Church in Mableton, presented a devotional and led in prayer.

In the background, Mary and Troy Elliott of Salem Baptist Church in McDonough arranged plastic forks and knives as the volunteers lined up for the first meal of the day.

"We're no carpenters so our ministry is to feed those who are doing the heavy work," Troy Elliot explained.

That simple statement sums up the ministry of BFC as volunteers use the talents with which they have been gifted, says John Haeger, missions and ministry development director for the association. Those who know their gifts use those gifts on the trip; others not quite so sure of their gifts are given opportunities to explore a variety of ways to participate.

And cooking is just as valuable a contribution as hanging sheetrock or setting rafters, team members agree. Camp cook Marie Piper saw to it that no volunteer left a table hungry.

 

Age is not important

Age is also a non-issue, as Eloise and V.A. Tinker believe. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while on site in New Hampshire. The couple have taken more than 30 trips during their marriage.

"We want to use our talents to provide other young churches with the spiritual tools to spread the gospel in their communities. And what better way than to have a new building to attract new believers and to have a more comfortable surrounding in which to share the gospel," Eloise Tinker said.

"When you've been on one of these trips you just get hooked and keep coming back for more. It gets in your blood."

Joel Mojica, a former member of Piedmont Baptist Church in Marietta, was a team member for 10 years before moving to Austin, Texas. But the 79-year-old volunteer returned from Texas to join the team and quickly worked circles around some of the younger crew members.

Mojica's wife, Joy, who served for nine years as children's minister at Piedmont Church, did not participate on the New Hampshire trip.

One of the benefits of participating on a BFC trip is how the experience empowers local believers in their community, team members said.

"It's fun to see the local members get so excited as they see their church come out of the ground and begin to take shape in just a few days. This is just a wonderful way of helping Christ's church to reach out to others," said Glenda Spring. She and her husband, Mike, are members of Norton Park Baptist Church in Smyrna and were among those serving on the trip.

 

Creating "quite a stir"

Brad Graves, pastor of the congregation, said the presence of the Georgia volunteers created "quite a stir in our community as motorists watched the church building begin to take shape. And the fact that 86 laypersons took their vacation and drove to provide us with free labor made quite an impact. You just don't hear about people doing anything for free these days."

Graves, a Nehemiah church planter through the North American Mission Board, came to the church shortly after it was begun in a partnership between NAMB and the New Hampshire Baptist Association. That was in 1999, and growth has been slow but steady.

"Last Sunday I preached about how most pregnancies last nine months. I feel like we've been pregnant for five years as we've struggled with a permanent place to hold our worship services. Now it's time to be born, and Builders for Christ is helping to make that happen.

"During those five years that we've been in the spiritual womb, God has been protecting us, nourishing us, forming our organs and strengthening our legs so we can begin to walk. We are grateful to these Georgians who have come up to attend to that birthing process," he explained.

 

Growth not easy for evangelical churches

Growth in New England is not easy for evangelical churches, he maintains.

"We baptized 70 percent of our membership so most of our congregation is composed of new believers. We don't have many who have simply transferred their membership from another church.

"We have knocked on every door in Raymond, Epping, Deerfield, and Freemont two or three times and we still continue to find prospects. Several of those have been won to Christ and joined our chuch.

The average Southern Baptist church in New England averages only 40-50 in worship attendance and is served by a bivocational pastor, he added.

"Having Builders for Christ with us is a great opportunity for the church to gain some visibility in the community. This shows faith in action. Locals are seeing Southern Baptists from opposite sides of the nation, who never met each other before, come together to cooperate on a construction project.

"The framing team from Georgia will save us about $60,000 in labor costs. That means we only had to raise $60,000 for the building materials. Everyone in our community knows who these volunteers are and why they are here."

Later in the summer a team from Kentucky arrived to install the metal roof while subcontractors were hired to install siding, plumbing, and finish the interior. The first service is scheduled for early October.

"I can't say enough good about the Georgia volunteers and their ministry through Builders for Christ," Graves added.

 

Did you know...

Builders for Christ (BFC) began at Noonday Baptist Association in 1985. It was similar to a group called Carpenters for Christ but different in that Builders for Christ allowed women to participate.

Hugh Roberts was instrumental in bringing the group to Noonday and coordinating their projects at the beginning, explained John Haeger, missions and ministry development director for the association. Roberts later became the nationwide coordinator for Builders for Christ projects through the former Home Mission Board and served there until he retired in 1997.

The BFC projects consist of building new churches or providing additions or renovations to existing churches and seminaries. Teams from Noonday have participated on projects in Iowa, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Washington state, Colorado, California, Oregon, Nevada, Canada, Alaska, Missouri, Washington D.C., and Georgia.

Teams have consisted of anywhere from 15 to more than 100 volunteers who usually take their vacations to go and pay for the trip out of their own pockets, Haeger said. They also provide their own tools.

"The key to the success of the individual projects are coordinators. Each team has one 'general,' a couple of 'lieutenants,' and a whole lot of soldiers. It is important to have the right team for the right job at the right time," he added.

The driving of nails and the putting up of two-by-fours is secondary to the overall mission. The sacrificial love the team shows by their efforts is the main mission and the trip is considered a success if the recipient church, as it matures, organizes teams to help other churches with similar needs.

"One of the team members who has been on about 19 trips explained why he goes on the trips and why he feels that most of the team members go," Haeger explained. "He told me 'It's just one way we can use our talents to spread the gospel.' After all, Jesus was a carpenter Himself and was the first coordinator of building projects on the mission field."