We had a tremendous week and weekend of ministry during Ironman USA Lake Placid. The race was wonderful, the people we met were great, and God moved in powerful ways. Here are some of the highlights.Several churches and ministries joined together for ministry under the umbrella of North Country Ministries:
-New Bethesda Baptist Church (VA)
-Oak Grove Baptist Church (MD)
-Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Delmarva)
-FBC Kennesaw (GA)
-Rolling Hills Baptist Church (GA)
-FBC Springfield (VA)
-Immanuel Baptist Church (VA)
-Lake Placid Baptist Church (NY)
-Saranac Lake Baptist Church (NY)
-Calvary Baptist Church (NY)
Here's some of what we did:
-Served at Ironman Registration
-NCM Booth in the Expo area (sno cones, prayer station, face painting, balloon animals)
-Set up tables & chairs for the Ironman banquets, decorated them, welcomed the athletes and their families as they arrived at the banquets
-Concert at Mid's Park in Lake Placid, overlooking Mirror Lake
-Fed pancakes to 1300 people at our Pancake Breakfast on the day before the race
-Worshiped and prayed with 250 people at the IronPrayer Service at Lake Placid Baptist Church on the evening before the race
-Led an Aid Station on the Bike Course of the race
-Led an Aid Station on the Run Course of the race
-Served as Road Marshals around town during the race
-Baptized 3 people in Lake Placid (the lake) on the Fri & Sat before the race
-Rejoiced when 16 people made professions of faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior at the IronPrayer Service
-Met some wonderful people
-Rejoiced, prayed, encouraged, served, fellowshiped, laughed, had an amazing time
-Saw a great Ironman race
-Thanked the Lord for the great weather on race day
At the IronPrayer Service, athletes Brad Seng, Carrie Chavez and Jay Fetterman shared testimonies of their walk with Christ, and the difference He makes in their lives. If you'd like to hear the podcast of the IronPrayer service, click here: http://www.lpbaptist.org/IronPrayerLakePlacid2009.mp3.
Many people took photos throughout the weekend, and they are posting them on their Facebook pages and other places online. If you have some photos to share with everyone, write a comment to this blog post and give us a link to see the photos. To see some great photos taken by my friend Jordan Craig of our week of ministry, go here: http://gallery.me.com/jordancraigmedia#100090.
In addition to all of these Ironman-related ministries, the mission teams also cut and stacked firewood, helped to re-roof a home, traveled to a couple of nearby communities for ministry there, and even had time for some great ice cream at the many ice cream shops in the North Country!
