by Becky Graves
How would you like to spend the warmer months of the year doing something rewarding and worthwhile? I see you nodding your head!
You must be willing to travel and dwell among other Christians and be ready to make positive changes in the lives of congregations or camp attendees.
Do you mind working up a sweat, laughing or being in fellowship with others? No, this isn’t a retreat or a workout class. This cardio exercise involves sawdust and nails!
What is Mission Builders?
Mission Builders, an ELCA organization that helps ministries build new facilities to expand their outreach, is looking for volunteers. It relies on retired people to be the experienced core of the Mission Builder crews. As a volunteer, you will help ELCA congregations, schools, camps and social ministry organizations construct or improve their facilities.
Our crews are made up of people from all walks of life. Most are ready for a new direction. They want to strengthen their spiritual life and meet other Christians.
Do you have a recreational vehicle?
After a building’s foundation is laid, crews live on site during construction in their recreational vehicles (RV). Some congregations provide housing if you don’t have an RV.
Mission Builders are provided with workers’ compensation insurance and paid a minimum wage for an eight-hour, five-day work week. A typical Mission Builder project lasts three to four months, and most of the projects take place during the summer.
I can hear you saying, “That’s work, and I’m retired.” It is work, but fulfilling and exciting. And you’ll be in a new environment that you can explore and enjoy on your days off.
My husband, Bill, and I have experienced Mission Builders for nine summers. We’ve worked in eight states and explored all the ones in between driving to our destination.
We learned as we worked
We weren’t in the construction business before joining Mission Builders, but we learned as we worked. We even built our own home from what we’ve learned. Soon we will be leaving for Wisconsin to work at a church camp, then on to North Dakota and Washington before returning south for the winter.
We would love to have you be part of our faith and work family. Over the next three years, we anticipate projects in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Iowa, South Carolina and Texas.
Are you interested in becoming a Mission Builder? For more information contact us at [email protected] or call 1-800-643-5295. (Read an article about Mission Builders in the Spring issue of Seeds for the Parish, p. 2.)
Becky Graves is a former elementary and preschool teacher. She first learned of Mission Builders when a crew built a church building for a mission congregation she and Bill attended in Indianapolis. Since retiring, she has been involved in more than a dozen church and camp builds across the United States.
Feature photo: clockwise from left, Bishops Jessica Crist, Montana Synod, and Michael Rhyne, Allegheny Synod; Working on the Montana Synod House: l-r, Nancy Hartfiel, Arlen Hartfiel, Jim Dyess, project manager, Chris Dyess, Jennifer Ehlers, Rick Ehlers all from Seguin, Texas; Framing cabin walls at Camp Metigoshe: Lisa Benson, left, Bethany Bierma, both work at Metigoshe Ministries.