Bootcamp!

Basic Training Portrait: 1975

Until Thursday and Friday it'd been 42 years since I'd last been in "boot camp." Actually, ARMY Basic Training, September-November 1975; Fort Knox, Kentucky. Eight weeks of uh...adventure camp guided by two combat-experienced, extremely motivated military professionals SSGT. Footman and SSGT. Osborn. We hiked a lot, got yelled at a lot, did push ups until Kentucky couldn't be pushed any more, marched around a lot, duck-walked a lot, crawled in the mud, charged up hills with our M-16's yelling, "Bang, Bang" at the "bad guys" (as the ARMY had a shortage of blank rounds for training at that time), ate complete meals in 5 minutes or less inside, ate from little green cans outside, shot real bullets, threw live hand grenades, experienced the pleasures of CS Gas (Tear Gas) in a highly saturated closed environment, and used up a lot of shoe polish and Brasso....ahh....but I digress.

This boot camp, March 30-31, was a little bit different. It was hosted by Support Raising Solutions (SRS). We were in a church venue in Charlotte, NC. No push ups, no one yelling at us, no tear gas, shaved heads, bullets, or hand grenades just 70 people gathered together for two days of intense training in how to be "Spiritually Healthy, Vision Driven, and Fully Funded" in our respective faith-based ministries. We did have crayons, silly putty, and breath mints!

On-table resources. The eggs contained Silly-Putty for personal use.

Our bootcamp venue at Steele Creek Church.

28 Sessions in 7 Parts over two days of interactive training, practical application, and competitive support-raising related activities (chocolate being the motivational prizes)...prayer, hard work, facing fears and conquering them related to sharing our ministry and inviting others to join us in it. From the newest missionary yet-to-raise-their-first-dollar--to those missionaries termed "grizzled veterans" (it seems odd to think on oneself as "grizzled") who've been living on faith support for over 20 years, we were all thrown in the support development trenches being drilled in the foundational aspects and approaches to expanding God's Kingdom inside the church in order to be enabled to share Christ's love and compassion outside the church. Goal setting and accountability, baby. GO. GO. GO.

Karen takes on a worksheet.

Part Four of Seven in our SRS Wookbook & Reference Guide

Intense. Focused. Practical. Challenging. Fun. Well worth it. A good investment of time, heart, soul, and Kingdom Resources.

Our training companions!

If you're headed into full-time Christian Service of the faith-based kind (raise your own donor-based ministry income) Karen and I highly recommend fully preparing for, and then attending, an SRS Bootcamp! You'll be glad you did, your mission will be glad you did, and those whose lives you're going to touch and transform...will be glad you did.

Me, Karen, Kim, and Jeremy

During the seminar were blessed to connect with a young couple, Jeremy & Kim, who met in the ARMY during a deployment in the Middle East, got married, started a family, and served 12 years before being called out of the military to serve in a the specific ministry to the military that transformed their lives through hospitality, outreach, and Christ's love: Cadence International. It's a great story of returning to a sub-culture many don't understand, to be Christ's hope for those serving our country around the world. They have a special understanding of our men & women in uniform.

Thanks for making it possible for us to undergo this training and be able to pass along everything we learned to the new missionaries and "grizzled veterans" entering service with Global Outreach Mission!