Among the 300 or so exhibitors at the North American Christian Convention in Indianapolis July 8-11, David Hennig, D.Q. Roberts, Sara Smith and Janet Jones stood out from the crowd.
The convention exhibition floor featured a good cross-section of vendors people expect to find: architects and builders, colleges and universities, mission organizations, publishers and booksellers, and church marketing organizations.
Kentucky Christian College and Ozark Christian College were among 17 colleges and universities which occupied more than one booth space. Standard Publishing spread its wares out in an area that spanned several aisles and gobbled up more floor space than any other exhibitor, so it wasn't the size of their exhibits that made Henning, Roberts, Smith and Jones stand out.
In fact, of the four, only Roberts' Christian Riders Ministry -- with four booth spaces -- took up more than the standard booth size.
What set them apart from their fellow exhibitors were the ministries they represented.
Magician With a Mission
Hennig has a unique approach to ministry. He captivates people with magic tricks he deftly parlays into messages of redemption and salvation.
Small crowds gathered each time he started a new trick, such as the rope trick he dubbed "The Long and the Short of It."
For the trick, Hennig used several pieces of rope cut at different lengths. Through some sleight of hand, he made them the same length before causing them to revert to different lengths once again.
Throughout the trick, Hennig used Scripture to show how God views people as the same -- as His creation.
"People tend to judge us by the way we look on the outside, but 1 Samuel: 16 says God does not judge by outward appearance. He looks at the heart. God sees us all the same," Henning said. "You see, we're His children. He loves each and every one of us. That's why it's so important we are faithful to share the Good News of the gospel with everybody, because God loves all of us. That is the long and the short of it."
Hennig said he started doing Christian magic in 1988. In 1994 he left his job as curriculum editor at Standard Publishing to work the Magician With a Mission ministry full time.
"What happened is, I only intended it to be a part-time, supplemental thing, but God had bigger plans. Within the six years I was doing it part time, I began to generate so much work it was interfering with my day job," he said.
Each year Hennig travels more than 40,000 miles presenting creative education
|
-- David Hennig, |
It's a wonderful outreach tool because you prime the kids from the church to invite their friends.
Since Hennig is not allowed to deliver the gospel during school shows, he schedules church performances during the same time. Students who attend the church are encouraged to talk about the performance with their classmates and invite them to the church performance.
"It's a wonderful outreach tool because you prime the kids from the church to invite their friends," he said.
Christian Riders Ministry
D.Q. Roberts and his wife, Beth, turned their love for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Christ into a powerful ministry. They reach out to motorcycle clubs, a segment of society that few are willing to minister to and even fewer are welcomed by.
Though D.Q. and Beth spend most of the year -- 32 weeks -- at biker camps and rallies, they are as comfortable among the church set as they are the bikers at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D. He said he hopes the example they set will rub off on both groups.
 |
|
SAY CHEESE-- D.Q. Roberts, right, poses with a young motorcycle fan at the NACC in Indianapolis |
Roberts said his Christian Riders Ministry began when he and his wife accepted Christ 13 years ago after visiting a Florida church.
"Most of them were retirees. They turned around, looked at us and they were just bowled over by love," he said. "One of them walked up and said, ‘Welcome home,' and just started hugging on us."
Since then, he said God has sent him to some of the roughest spots in the country to tell bikers they are welcome in His church.
"It's amazing and a very bold statement, but we've been going to churches also and telling them they need to open their doors and hearts."
Roberts said he grew up around motorcycles and has been riding his own for almost 40 years.
"The thing about it is, I've only been with the Lord for 13 years, so when I go to these (motorcycle) clubs, we've got friends who are Banditos, Outlaws, Hell's Angels and when I'm around them, talking to them, they know where I've been and what I've done. They're amazed at what I'm doing now," he said.
Roberts said NACC provides opportunities to speak to pastors and church leaders
|
-- D.Q. Roberts, |
"We get to network with some of the other churches. The kids get to see that there is something else besides just a church building or just going to Africa to a mission field over there," he said. "There are mission fields right here that can be touched. All we have to is let God use what we like.
"He asked Moses, ‘What do you have in your hand?' Moses said, ‘Just this staff,' and God said, ‘OK, I'll use that staff,'" Roberts said. "For me, it was an old Harley. Well, I'll use that."
Christian Wings for the World
Sara Smith makes an interesting emissary for the ministry her husband, Lionel, operates in Ironton, Mo. The affable spokesperson for Christian Wings for the World (CWW) said she is not particularly fond of flying and is quite happy to leave that to her husband.
Lionel Smith, who was not present at the convention, trains missionary pilots to operate in remote, Third World jungle locations.
"They go to the mission field," she said. "They fly doctors in, they fly supplies to the missionaries. A lot of the time they supply several missionaries for several different missions."
Started in 1996, CWW trains students to qualify for their private pilot through jungle
|
-- Sara Smith, |
Churches, family members, friends and mission organizations support the student pilots, who train for as long as two years to gain their certifications.
"When they come to us, usually they have their support in place," she said. "After their training, they usually go to the field in Asia, Africa or wherever."
Sara Smith said they train five or six students a year. Once they complete training, they typically go to work for organizations like Missionary Aviation Fellowship, which provides aviation and technology services to more than 300 Christian and humanitarian organizations worldwide.
"We're hoping, someday, to have our ministry grow enough that we can send an airplane into the field with the pilot," she said. "Right now, we have to count on the other missions."
Though she is eager to support her husband and enthusiastically explains the ministry to interested people, she said that is as far as she goes.
"I never wanted to be a pilot," she said. "I kind of panic a little and I don't think anybody that panics has any business being a pilot. You've got to be under control."
Heifer International
Heifer International helps provide the world's poor with cows, goats, chickens, water buffalo, llamas and other livestock.
The Little Rock, Ark.-based international mission has worked directly with five million families in more than 125 countries since it began in 1944.
Heifer's mission is, in part, to tackle world hunger by providing livestock, training and other resources to help poor families around the globe. The animals Heifer provides are not meant to be eaten, but are used to provide dairy products, animal labor, fertilizer and other byproducts.
Heifer animals (and training in their care) offer hungry families around the world a way to feed themselves and become self-reliant. Children receive nutritious milk or eggs;
|
-- Janet Jones, |
Janet Jones said the organization attends events like NACC to raise awareness.
"Heifer is still one of the best-kept secrets in the nation, although we are almost 60 years old," Jones said.
In fiscal year 2002, the organization spent $47.8 million in the mission field, which is largely international, but also includes outreach in the United States.
While the organization began by seeking donated animals that were shipped away, Heifer now seeks to buy animals closer to where they are needed.
"Although we still get offers for animals, we're much better stewards of our donors contributions if that donor would sell the animal locally, donate the money to Heifer so we can use it in the United States, Uganda, Honduras or wherever that money is needed," she said.
