Christian Appalachian Project Case Study

Introduction For this pastoral interview, I interviewed Andrew O’Brien. He has been serving as the missions pastor for North Ridge Church for two years. O’Brien lives in Falls City, Nebraska with his wife, Emily, and two young sons. Being a child of missionaries in Mexico, he has always had a heart for missions.

The biggest challenge is overcoming these barriers due to the lack of available resources and strong religious beliefs that affects their health promotions. It is imperative that Appalachia gets public assistance on preventative care and education to encourage better health conditions. The Health Wagon founded in 1980 to provide free health care to medically under-served people in the mountains of Southwest Virginia in Central Appalachia Wagon, which operates as a mobile health clinic that provides comprehensive primary health care services and emphasizes on education and prevention care (Gardner, Gavaza, Meade, & Adkins, 2012). This gives hope of achieving health success among the Appalachian culture with programs geared toward preventative treatment and education

Two years ago, I was selected to attend Pearson College UWC, a school with students from over eighty different countries. It was here than I honed my leadership skills and developed an appreciation for our global community through listening to speakers and through dialogue with my peers. In addition, I further engaged in the outdoors and sustainability. I run the Cross-Training fitness group on campus, as well as being a Kayak Leader. Using the skills I have developed through the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold Award, I lead hikes and camping expeditions at my school.

The Appalachian region is the most complex geographical unit or area to define, based on characteristics and functions of culture. This cultural area is 205,000 square miles and extends from northern Pennsylvania towards northeastern Missippi, which it composed of parts of 13 states and 420 counties. Twenty-five Million, people who live in Appalachia, considered this region as a native or home culture area based on personal perceptions. Most people believe Appalachia, as a formal culture region, is upon a measurable set of common cultural, human, and anthropogenic traits. Many people in Appalachia are descendants of several European immigrants such as the Irish-Scotish, Germans, and the Welsh.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail Every year, roughly 2,000 people attempt to thru-hike the entire 1,280 miles of the famous Appalachian Trail. Only one in four succeeds. Stretching from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) winds through snowy mountains and extensive farmland, attracting visitors from across the world to test their mettle. More than just a physical challenge, A.T. vets regularly preach that the trail is a test of mental endurance.

I have been greatly challenged and rewarded by the campers I have interacted with here. One of the greatest challenges I have faced while serving in this role is finding a healthy balance between focusing on the needs of other and focusing on myself. Throughout the summer, I am constantly focusing on the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical needs of campers. There is little time and

Therefore, my ambition motivated me to join Keep Brownsville Beautiful on the effort to improve the community’s environment. I was part of the recycling events in which took place during many high school football games to collect empty plastic bottles to recycle them to reduce greenhouse effect. My other participations in community service events are with the National Honor Society. As the Parliamentarian for the Lopez Early College High School National Honor Society, I contributed in the participation of the organization to be present at the Mile of Hope to bring awareness for breast cancer. In addition, we organized a canned- food drive to be donated for the school’s janitors and those in need during the Thanksgiving break, we collected toys for “Toys For Tots”, wrote Christmas Cards for Veterans and volunteered at Spanish Meadows, a nursing home, to share the Christmas Spirit with the elders.

On August 13, 1954, Reverend George D. West announced that the Tennessee Christian Missionary Society, which is the state organization of the Disciples of Christ churches in Tennessee, purchased the 1802 Grand Ave property for its new headquarters. The TCMS began in 1894 as the result of “movements that were backlashes against the rigid denominationalism of the early 1800s. The movement’s purpose was to return to the principles of the early churches described in the New Testament.” By 1969, the TCMS outgrew the 1802 Grand Ave property, put it on the market for $30,000, and moved to 3700 Richland Avenue.

This volunteer experience allowed me to implement servant leadership principles including, listening, empathy, stewardship and commitment to the growth of others and building of the community. Speaking with and listening to the donors, has shown me the importance in taking the time to learn the stories of others and how as servant leaders,

The Appalachia region is less racial and culturally diverse than the rest of the United States. Though, this seems to be gradually shifting. Traditionally, the region has been largely occupied by non-Hispanic whites. The 1990 census exposed the beginning of racial and ethnic change of the Appalachian region (Salob, 2014). The proportion of African Americans was 24.9 percent which was approximately three times greater than non-Hispanic whites at 8.1 percent The poverty rate amongst African Americans in Appalachia was 27 percent with 12.1 percent being non-Hispanic whites.

Many Christ followers and those interested in learning His word struggle to find the right worship service. Friendship Baptist Church in Warner Robins, GA, invites newcomers with open arms to their warm, welcoming worship services.

She explained that she was on her way to the bank to get a loan for her son 's communication device when she got a call from the HIKE foundation. It was extremely rewarding to be able to help someone in that way. Besides my love of community service, I have gained so much confidence in myself from my friends that I have met through Job 's Daughters. Ther are many opportunities to compete in public speaking, talent and pageant competitions. The first big competition I entered was the Junior Miss Oklahoma pageant when I was fifteen.

Charleston Southern University is a private Christian university in South Carolina. The university is at the very young age of fifty-two years old. As you may have guessed due to the age, the schools athletic programs are still building themselves up as well. In the past couple of years the programs have dramatically improved. What has not improved as much as it should have are the universities athletic facilities. While the school is smaller it can still look good and many believe that if the university were to put more money into building up the facilities then it would drawl in a higher caliber of student athletes. Athletes bring in the most money to universities so shouldn 't they be rewarded with great facilities. Athletic programs bring

Detroit Experience Paper Being immersed into the inner city is something not only urban ministry majors should experience, but all Christ followers. The many things we experienced during the weekend taught me a lot and helped further prepare me for my own ministry in an urban setting. Experiences such as the charter school, Beast of the Beats, CDC, talking to a homosexual pastor, and Tabernacle Revival Church made me feel a wide mix of emotions. Many times during the trip I felt so confirmed that this is I am suppose to focus my work for the Lord. On the contrary, there were times I wondered what I am getting myself into.

During the interview with Timothy Hughes, Pastor of the First Baptist Church, many difficult and probing questions were asked to discover the heart of his decision making process. The pastor, making himself available for this interview answered with much openness and transparency revealing how he makes decisions regarding a variety of issues. In regards to fear and its impact on his decision making, one could ascertain that this pastor uses acknowledgement of his fear to provide balance in this process. Decision made in regards to sermon preparation time is deemed to vary as he tries to “utilize a variety of sermon methodology or sermon preparation.” The importance of having a mentor relationship has been important in his life and has aided in making challenging decisions. The aid of such individuals have helped in molding the philosophy he has regarding decisions now. The use of small groups have aided in growth in his life and decisions he has made regarding the issues of focused study. The relationship he has with his family has a great impact on his decisions made. His wife is an