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From the Director's Desk
Christmas at KBM
UP A TREE
Summer 2000 Internship Positions
God's Humor
New Staff: New Programs
The Back Page
Return to Kodiak Baptist Mission Home Pages
Radical means to go to the root. In 1996 that is what the Board of Directors
of the Kodiak Baptist Mission (KBM) did. In a watershed decision the board rejected a five
hundred thousand-dollar state contract to run a residential treatment program for youth, a
move that for almost everyone was unbelievable and indeed in the purest sense of the word,
radical. The decision was made following years of controversy regarding the faith-based
programs run by KBM. The state was insistent that KBM remove the overt Christian theme
from its services while the organization worked to maintain both it's values and it's
funding. Finally, backed into a corner, the board was left with few choices. Leaving no
one to doubt its commitment, the board rejected the contract. In taking this action KBM
affirmed it's Christian values and looked to the American Baptist Churches which started
the Baptist Mission in 1893 for help and support. Following this action nearly everyone
believed the mission would close but contrary to that initial view the vitality of KBM is
astonishing to those who have followed it's progress.
Today KBM's retooling is nearly completed with a heavy emphasis on preventative services. Most of the services work to provide for families in the areas of greatest and most basic concern to them: Daycare, Preschool, drug and alcohol prevention, after-school learning and supervision, and all day summer programs for children of working families. KBM is philosophically driven to assist families in reducing unsupervised idle time for their children by providing meaningful supervised activities that engage children in learning, physical activities and most importantly Christian spiritual growth.
In addition to all the new preventative services the Kodiak Baptist Mission continues to provide residential services to youth. The mission has a growing program that is already half the size of the original residential treatment program funded by the state. The Mission's residential services include an Emergency Shelter, Foster Care Program, and Respite services. KBM also employs a Masters level Social worker who provides family and individual counseling and consultation to all KBM programs as they work with children and families through a variety of challenges.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of KBM's fantastic success and revitalization. Individuals and couples venture far from home to answer a call to the ministry that is being carried out in Kodiak Alaska. The diversity of the volunteers is amazing; it includes people from all walks and professions. They have come representing a wide field of professions to include Mechanics, professional chefs, Ph.D.s in Education, University Professors, Custodians, Pre-school Teachers and the list goes on! These workers are provided housing on the scenic 30-acre campus overlooking the ocean and islands that stretch out in front of Kodiak.
Another mainstay for KBM is the Church. Having renounced the government funding that
KBM was dependent on, it turned to the Church for it's support. Today committed
individuals and church partners from across the country defend KBM from compromise through
their faithful giving of time and financial
support. With volunteers and church partnerships KBM is exploring a new dimension in
Christian Social Services firmly planted in the good news of Christ.
I do not want to present a glossed over Pollyanna attitude regarding this difficult and
often painful passage for KBM. Realistically the challenges continue to be immense. Will
KBM succeed in the future? That depends upon the churches and the people of God who
believe that the gospel extends to the whole person, physical, social and spiritual. We
are grateful for those who have stood with us for religious freedom in spite of the costs.
But that said, we do know that faithful adherence to Christ and His values will in the end
sustain. To put it in the glib context of an experiment, the results make a clear
statement to ministries- don't compromise your values. Not only are they what brought you
to the success you have already experienced but they are what will carry you through the
tough times and demonstrate to those that can help that you are a ministry of values and
unflagging integrity.
Those interested in becoming involved with this retooled and evolving ministry can contact KBM's Executive Director Trevor Jones at (907) 486-2644 or write to Kodiak Baptist Mission 1944 East Rezanof, Kodiak Alaska 99615 or e-mail to info@kodiakbaptistmission.org.
The
Currier and Ives Christmas celebration has grown every year since it started. Each year
new features have been added and more people come to what is now a Kodiak tradition. At
the center of the celebration is a live nativity in our own barn and the simple telling of
the Christmas story from the Word of God. It is humbling to think of our Lord Jesus coming
into the world in such poor circumstances. The barn with its earthy smells tells what a
tremendous gap was bridged at Christmas when God became man. This year about 200 people
participated and the presence of many local churches helped point the community to the
real meaning of Christmas.
One of the great privileges we have here as staff is to meet with people who grew up at KBM. There are not many that come who were at Woody Island, most are older and do not travel any longer but quite a few return that spent some of their childhood at out present campus. One woman came back recently and looked a large spruce tree in the yard of McWhinnie cottage. "I spent many hours up in that tree", she said. When I asked her why, she said it was the only place she could be alone. When this young girl was at KBM there may have been as many as thirteen young people of every age in each house. There really weren't many places to be alone. For the most part brothers and sisters were together unless for some special reason or crowding they could not be. All the space was used though. So the tree became a place of solitude among the happy noise of the children.
Over the years the Mission has changed. The children are different and the state regulations for licensing are different. I look at the old photographs with children standing on the roof and hanging out every window of the mission and realize we would be cited for abuse and reckless endangerment if we even allowed children to do that, much less pose them for a picture. The children have changed to. There are not many orphans today. The mission turned to helping troubled youth, kids who were in trouble with the law or their families. The methods changed also, fire regulations allowed only five children in each home. It was quite a departure from the early years with all ages and lots of siblings being taken care of by their older brothers and sisters in addition to the mission staff.
Nearly four years ago, we made another change. Refusing state contracts with all the restrictions on our religious liberty, we trusted that the churches and people of faith would support the mission. We radically altered our methods and outreach so that we began our work with younger children and did not stutter about the place of our Lord in this work. We still deal with troubled youth. There will always be a need for a place for kids with real problems to stay. But we turned our major attention to PREVENTION rather than REMEDIATION. We hope that many of the children we deal with today will never know the ravages of a life out of control. We hope to help families to stay together and have the tools to raise their children right.
Once again, it is sometimes hard to find a quiet place at the Mission. There are many happy voices heard. Throughout the Christmas season carols were heard with joyful voices lifting praise to God for the gift of His Son our Lord Jesus. Sometimes, I long for a quiet place but the first branch on the old spruce tree is about twenty feet in the air now. The trunk has grown too large to shinny up it. I guess I could use a ladder but it would take some of the romance out of it.
The Kodiak Baptist Mission has summer internship positions available for the summer of 2000. Interns will minister in a day camp program designed to develop children's spiritual, physical, moral, social and intellectual growth. A commitment of 10 weeks is required within the time frame of May 31st and August 28th. Staff should expect to work full 8 hours day, Monday through Friday. KBM tries to keep camper to staff ratio less than 10:1.
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| Matthew Powers, Danielle Gage, Jenny Stieben, Gretchen Spars, Lucien Bernard, Richard Stewart, Sheila Teague, Chelsea Doerr, Meredith Hoppe, Cara Dingus, Joel North (from l to r) |
Favorite activities of the children include: chapel, music, Christian drama/dance, fishing, hiking, horse riding, swimming, kayaking, tide pooling, and a variety of sport activities. Interns will be expected to take leadership in summer camp activities and use their unique talents.
Summer interns will receive:
Changing the future…one child at a time
For an application or more information contact:
Summer Intern Program
Kodiak Baptist Mission
1944 East Rezanof Drive
Kodiak, Alaska 99615
Phone: (907) 486-4126
FAX: (907) 486-5567
e-mail: info@kodiakbaptistmission.org
"All I know is that I definitely do not want to do long term care for troubled teens." I can remember saying that to just about any one who would listen to me when I decided to go to the Kodiak Baptist Mission. The Mission has had a long history of working with youth in a residential setting from its days as a orphanage to its time as a residential treatment facility for youth offenders. I knew that I did not have the patience to work with these kids with troubled backgrounds. Sure I could do projects with them here and there but I knew that when I went home I wanted to have time by myself.
After working at the Mission on various projects, my wife, Cindy, and I were offered a position working as teaching parents in the emergency shelter. This is a place where teens who have no other place to live can stay for a while until they can make arrangements to go back to their family or to a good home. It was designed so that no teen would have to spend a night on the streets of Kodiak. We decided to take the job and I remember once again repeating to just about anyone who would listen, "All I know is that I definitely do not want to do long term care for troubled teens." But these teens would be spending at most two weeks with us so that more suitable long term housing could be found and I could take living with any troubled teen for two weeks.
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Cindy, Evan and Joshua Jones |
God has a funny way of shaping and guiding his children. Sometimes he can take you from where you are to where you thought you did not want to be. As we began to take boys in, it readily became apparent, even in a modern society where there are few orphans, that these boys did not have anywhere else to stay. There was no other suitable home for them outside the youth detention center in Anchorage. Most of them had both parents but they were orphans because of alcoholism, drugs or just neglect. Very few of the boys who came to our home had loving bond to either of their parents and not many people are in the market for adopting 16 and 17 year old boys. It quickly became apparent that God was calling us to have these boys live with us long term. The one thing I said I definitely would not do.
We have worked with various boys for two years now with many triumphs and many defeats. Satan is constantly battling to keep these boys in the sewers of life and we constantly battle to lift them to a higher ground and a new way of life. The boys constantly stumble through life trying to do the right thing for a while and then not caring and doing what they know to be wrong. All of these problems are quickly forgotten when you see boys who had virtually no living skills when they came, begin to wake themselves up for school, cook for themselves and wash their own clothes. After a while longer, they may begin to actually sit and think what is right and wrong in their lives, and with the limited skills that they have they try to walk down the road less traveled.
My wife and I will be leaving this position in May of this year and I think back on all of the boys who have stayed here. In all honesty most of them have tough lives ahead of them. The problems of 17 years of neglect cannot be fixed in a year or even two. The emotional scars do not disappear even when in a loving stable home. Never the less, I know I am making a small difference in each life I come in contact with. I know through my loving example these kids have a chance to see a family not as theirs was but how it should have been. I pray for each of these boys and I hope you will join me. Also pray that God will send someone to replace the two of us who can handle not only the triumphs but also the trials that can come with the ministry. Although I cannot give names and descriptions of our boys, we realize that God knows their needs and that the prayers of the righteous will not go unanswered. Perhaps God has gifted you as a couple with a burden for teens. You need not be young, in fact your experience may be a help. What you do need is a call from God and a love for the children. If God has spoken to you about ministry, pray about the need here at Kodiak.
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EleanorLockyer, Vera Catlow, Lois Clarke, RonDeLu Garshwiler, Jackie Brewer, Faith Bancroft (from l to r) |
Pray the Lord of Harvest that He will send workers into the fields. We have been praying for some time for new staff at the mission, and God has abundantly answered our prayer. This ministry is only possible through the work of God's Spirit and the cooperation of the people of God in being volunteers. January was a banner month for volunteers at KBM. Lois Clark's arrival allowed a much-needed vacation for Doris and Vic. Vera Catlow is a real answer to prayer. We have been struggling with the salehouse for over six months without a volunteer dedicated to this important ministry. Her arrival freed staff to work at the ministry they were committed to.
We were thrilled to welcome back David and Eleanor Lockyer to work in the Preschool/Daycare program. The program has grown to near capacity for our present facilities. This is an exciting program that meets a real need in our community for quality Christian teaching and care. The growth in this program is due to the excellent staffing and facilities available at KBM. We have two certificated teachers, with all staff having a bachelor's degree and two who have completed their masters studies.
Jackie Brewer comes from Sioux Falls, she has taken a year off school to do mission work. She is such a bright upbeat person that the kids love her. She is working with the preschoolers and really has a burden for young teens. God is opening doors for her already in the community. RonDeLu Garshwiler comes as a volunteer with a good deal of solid experience in working with children. She is working with our after school program. It has been our dream to separate the daycare and the afterschool programs, and with the arrival of these two women, we are able to divide the group. It really has made a difference to the children. The older ones are able to get Bible stories more geared to their age level and the kids are doing activities more suited for their age groups.
This month we will inaugurate an entirely new program at the mission. One of the most basic needs of people is food. Foodbank of Alaska approached KBM to become a local Foodbank. It has been our aim to have a well-rounded program that speaks to all the needs of families in the Name of Christ. Faith Bancroft is our newest volunteer. She hails from Rhode Island. Her solid background in social work and helping families allows us to reach out in a new way to families. The Board voted unanimously to assume this new ministry. The concept is to use USDA surplus food to aid families with demonstrated need. The USDA food will be augmented by donations from local stores and in the future even gardens. We also have the Sale House to provide clothing and household items to those who are in need of them. Please pray for this new step of faith at KBM.
God has placed many open doors before us. It is our hope to be able to reach out to people in many ways to share our Master's love. The harvest is indeed plentiful.
Kodiak Baptist Mission is supported by the financial and in-kind contributions of churches and other Christian organizations throughout the nation and the world. Your financial support would be greatly appreciated. We also have a need for contributions of goods or services related to the following items:
Petition God for His peace for our Staff and ministry that we might be peacemakers among our children, families, community and world.
Pray that God would send workers for the ongoing ministry of KBM, especially the summer interns of His choosing.
Ask that God would raise up a family of people that will stand by our ministry in prayer, volunteering and financial support.
God has graciously allowed us to affect many children and their families through the ministry here. Ask that He would help us turn the hearts of the children towards Him, and that their parents know the joy of families in Christ.
Ask our God, the Creator of all things, to provide for the finishing of our buildings that we have room to work and serve the children.
Ask the Great Physician to give healing and health to our staff that we might serve Him unhindered by sickness.
