|
SMOKY MOUNTAIN RESORT MINISTRIES ASKS:
CAN YOU DIG IT?
I have a cell phone.
I have unlimited minutes on my phone.
I keep all my numbers, schedules, music, and notes on my phone.
I have unlimited texting and still need more.
I can text blindfolded.
Who needs vowels?
I have different ringtones for all my friends.
What is a watch?
I called someone on a landline once in the last year.
What is a landline?
I know my grandmother's landline number.
My Facebook friends number is greater than 400.
I Facebook all my groups daily.
I Facebook my friends when we are in the same room.
I play invitations and causes and tests on Facebook.
I have a Facebook group named after me.
Once upon a time, I emailed.
I deFaced 10 people in the last year.
You can look me up in Wikipedia.
When you Google my name, the real me is on the first page.
I tweet.
I have my own website.
My You Tube videos are better than your You Tube videos.
I need earbuds.
I Ipod.
YES, I CAN!
Personal conversations are meaningful forms of communication.
I understand dialog –and like it.
I am not afraid to talk to people older than me or different from me.
I know how to communicate with my eyes and my body language.
I have written a paper thank you note and mailed it with a stamp recently.
I have a real friend who is not a Christian and with whom I visit personally,
in presence, every week.
I pray in person with a group of present friends on a regular basis.
To listen with my heart into what someone is saying gives me energy.
I practice active listening that goes beyond what the person is saying and into who they are.
I believe the incarnation of Christ reveals God's way of love for us.
I like to reveal God's presence active in people's lives.
To share holy moments with someone is what it means to be on Christian.
I understand and practice incarnational ministries.
I am an on mission Christian.
I am real.
SMOKY MOUNTAIN RESORT MINISTRIES
2010 ANNUAL REPORT
Hear –Listen –Receive –Relate –Witness –Minister –Grow the Church
Our theme this year was on personal relationships developed through the process
of hearing someone, actively listening to them,
and then receiving them as an individual.
Hearing leads to listening;
listening leads to receiving;
and receiving leads to relationship.
It is in relationship that witness and ministry take place.
This was our work of 2010.
Do you hear what I hear?
We hear what we want to hear—most of the time. For some of us who are harder
of hearing, we do not hear all that we need to hear. To hear someone in the midst
of our busy world means that we must place ourselves in their presence and open
ourselves to their words and hearts. We must be in place to hear.
In 2010, Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries made an active effort to be in place to
hear. Our programs were designed to get us into the right places. We went smaller
in some and changed program focus in others. We worked to hear what was being
said and to respond. We recruited and trained volunteers who were sensitive to
the possibilities of connection in real presence. Our 2010 summer staff was one of
the best! Our houseparents made sure of their work and their ministry. Our local
volunteers stepped into the right moments, right places, and right people to fulfill
their call to mission. Programs and volunteer were in place to hear.
Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort's winter season was 100 days long –one of their best
ever! We took this opportunity to be present throughout the season with worship,
programming, and relationships. The season ended with an Easter Sunrise service
with 900 in attendance! We heard God's call to Ober Gatlinburg in a clear way!
Is anyone listening?
Active listening skills take us beyond hearing what is said and into the meaning
behind it. These basic skills involve us in the effort to clarify the what and the
purpose. Active listening interprets the message and makes it real.
Joey, Katy, and Hayden Buck joined SMRM in February with Joey in the role of
Assistant Director / Dollywood Chaplain. Joey has applied active listening to all
of our efforts this year with great results. He has worked to learn a new place, new
resorts, new people, and new ministries. Joey's skills in clarifying what is being
said and done are strong. He interprets his experiences into active and accurate
ministry. The Buck family have become a wonderful part of SMRM in 2010.
Hey, I'm open!
To receive someone requires that you make room within yourself for them. It
means that you open your heart to their heart hopes and needs. The interpretation
that takes place in active listening gives way to deep connection and acceptance.
Ministry to international employees continues to be a God-given opportunity
for us. This year found us sharing Christ and ministering to needs and hopes in
Christ's name to college age students from twenty-two countries –all in Pigeon
Forge and Gatlinburg. The hospitality of receiving these friends means providing
them with space to be who they hope to be and with warmth to become someone
new. We used such tools as transportation, medical crises, Bible studies, meals,
national park tours, intentional visitation to bring into being these connections. We
used the heart of acceptance to show them the acceptance of Jesus Christ.
I can relate to you!
Relationships served as our theme in 2010. Our hopes were built upon the
relationships we made with others. Holy Spirit led sensitivity and urgency blend
together in resort ministry to make relationships powerful.
Through the year, Jacob and Rachel Baccus served as worship leaders at Ober
Gatlinburg Ski Resort, LeConte Lodge and in campgrounds. The accuracy of their
ministry was wonderful to experience as they adapted to different relationship
styles in each setting.
AnnaMarie, one of our wonderful volunteers, wrote that SMRM had grown her
to the point that "I now have a passion to just love on people for Christ's sake."
Her ministry relationships led her also write, "The one person I best remember is
S____ from Turkey. I can see his craving for God's love –and I got to show him
that." Intentional relationships were used to share Christ love in evangelism and
ministry.
Hear –Listen –Receive –Relate –Witness –Minister –Grow the Church
This was our pattern in 2010. This was God's work to connect us to our mission
field. The good news is that God honored this pattern. It was a good year!
SMOKY MOUNTAIN RESORT MINISTRIES
2010 STATISTICS SHEET
October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010
Number Attendance
Ski Ministry
Employee Worship Handouts and Scripture Portions 16 1600
Skier Worship Services 16 266
Employee Bible Studies 15 234
Easter Sunrise Service 1 900
Campground Ministry
Worship Services 128 1924
Family Evening Programs 8 613
Day Camps (1 week each) 22 859
Theme Parks / Special Attractions Ministry
Dollywood
9:30 Worship Service 30 437
11:30 Worship Service 30 5764
Christmas Festival: Candlelight Worship Service 8 1149
LeConte Lodge
Sunrise Worship Service 24 192
Breakfast Worship Service 24 216
Good Friday Service 1 69
Special Events Ministry
Gatlinburg Craftsmens' Fair
Sunday Worship Services 4 202
July 4 Pre-Parade Ministries 4 teams 80,000
International Employees Ministry
Special Events (Dinners, Picnics, Parties, Park Tours, etc) 41 937
Bible Studies 12 45
Transportation 47 517
Partnership with Pigeon Forge FBC LaPeurta 8 350
Other 35 280
Volunteers Utilized 375
Professions of Faith: 27
Renewals of Faith: 18
|
