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Hamilton Baptist Church is Resource for Rural South Dakota Community By Carla Wynn, CBF Communications In August, Sylvia Anderson traveled with her church, First Baptist Church of Hamilton, Mo., to Cherry Creek, S.D. And of all the things she saw and experienced during that missions trip, one thing stuck out most for this retired home economics teacher. Some of the Lakota Indian women she met wanted to learn how to sew, and Anderson wanted to make that happen. "There are some [Lakota] folks very gifted in making quilts but some that want to learn how to sew," said Kevin Ritter, pastor of First Baptist Hamilton. "[Sylvia] saw this as an opening." In October, after gathering as many sewing machines as she could find, Anderson went with a group again to Cherry Creek. She and other volunteers – Sharon Hon, Shirley Lujan and Lola Davis – held classes on sewing, fleece blanket making, watercolor painting and bead making. With more than 30 different products made by the Lakota women within a week, "the October trip was quite successful," Anderson said. The church’s trips are part of Together for Hope (TFH), the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative to 20 of the poorest counties in the United States. TFH gives churches the opportunity to partner with CBF and rural communities to help end poverty in the United States. Four of those counties are in South Dakota, and First Baptist Hamilton’s work concentrates in Ziebach County. The church began first of many trips to South Dakota in 2004, when Ritter drove a cargo trailer of warm comfort items to Cheyenne River Reservation as part of Warm Embrace, a Missouri-based ministry inspired by TFH. In 2005, a group from the church helped renovate the community church in Bridger, S.D., and on that trip and subsequent others, lasting relationships have been formed. "It wasn’t me, it was people from my church making these contacts and had a heart for the people and started developing these ministries on their own," Ritter said. "They were getting down into the real ministry and dealing with people’s lives at a real level. These folks are really sharing life." Many church members like Anderson have caught the ministry vision and have used their gifts and talents to contribute to the betterment of residents’ lives on the reservation. Ron and Patty Kipp are working with Cherry Creek resident Amos Cook, fixing old chainsaws and distributing them to residents who need access to firewood during often sub-zero winter temperatures in South Dakota. "Most of the trees on reservation are cottonwood," Ritter said. "They don’t burn very well, but there’s no money for propane [heating]. A couple of people had a vision for chainsaws, and so Ronnie just started asking around town and in our church." The Kipps have done similar collections in other areas, including Mexico, where they first started "Helping Hands Ministry." The ministry listens to community members, only collecting items the local leaders say are needed. Ron has already made three trips to South Dakota this year, taking chain saws and sharpening equipment. So far, Kipp and Cook, a volunteer firefighter who also owns a chainsaw shop, have repaired 10 chainsaws. This is incarnational ministry, as Ritter calls it, where members go not to conduct large revival meetings but to be the presence of Christ in whatever form that may take. The involvement has changed the church, Ritter said, with South Dakota trips inspiring participants to better minister in their own community. Even church members not going on trips are involved. Each night church members are in South Dakota, a group gathers at the church to pray for the trip. "That has really been the ultimate key," Ritter said. "This isn’t just 50 people going from this church and having a vision. It’s been a whole church thing. That is what has made this work." |
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