ABHMS Delegation Strengthens Ties, Gains Insights During Alaska Mission Visit
VALLEY FORGE, PA (07/17/2024)—In early June, a delegation of American Baptist Home Mission Societies staff, including Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, Michaele Birdsall, Rev. Dr. Rebecca Irwin-Diehl, Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri, Rev. Saeed Richardson, and Alexzandria Sanchez, visited American Baptist ministries in Alaska.
Their itinerary included the Kodiak Baptist Mission (KBM), founded in 1893 by the Woman’s American Baptist Home Mission Society and ABHMS’ ministry partner for over a century; Camp Woody on Woody Island; First American Baptist Church in Anchorage, pastored by the Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Wilson-Cone; and the 2024 ABC Alaska Baptist Churches State Convention at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Anchorage. They were also blessed with the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Alonzo Patterson, ABHMS’ national coordinator of Alaska Ministries.
An ABHMS delegation journeyed to Alaska on a special mission trip in June that included a visit to the Kodiak Baptist Mission, long-affiliated with ABHMS. Pictured from left to right are Johnny Walker, executive director of KBM, and from ABHMS, Michaele Birdsall, Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri, Rev. Dr. Rebecca Irwin-Diehl, Rev. Saeed Richardson, and ABHMS Executive Director Dr. Jeffry Haggray.
Kodiak Baptist Mission is a unique Christian mission that specializes in children’s and family ministries. They offer a wide variety of outdoor and indoor camps, programs and events, most of them designed for children ages 8-14, and year-round they run their own heritage farm and ranch with the only Grade A-certified goat dairy in Alaska that offers a specialized internship program for the youth. “Each and every day on the farm the youth are presented with real-life joy, struggle, conflict, and the need for resolution. They feel extremely big feelings and work very hard. Every moment is filled with discipleship, hard-working real-life discipleship,” said Kelli Foreman, assistant executive director at KBM. Outdoor activities for children and youth at KBM include horseback riding, kayaking, and archery. Indoor activities include cooking, painting, quilting, felting, and crocheting.
“We had a mission team come, all of them students from California,” said Johnny Walker, executive director of KBM. “They spent a week here, and we would go through an intensive service every morning, and then they’d put their hands to work here. We also have some programs here that are designed for younger children to get an opportunity to see some animals, do some outdoor things, to see some things that are a little bit different than what they’re used to.”
Walker and Foreman emphasized that at KBM, it’s a very different American Baptist life than in the lower 48. “We don’t have one paved road here,” said Foreman. “It’s very different to what you would see in the limelight for American Baptists.” They were very pleased about the ABHMS delegation’s visit. “They had been up all night the night before, and then spent a day here, so I’m very thankful for their willingness to power through, I think, and took the time to do their best to look at everything.”
In Anchorage, the delegation visited several churches and other sites. They also enjoyed fellowship with the pastoral staff of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and Patterson before the beginning of the convention. Haggray opened the convention with a sermon; on Friday, Onwubuariri preached.
Smith Chapel and the dormitory at Camp Woody, located on Woody Island, Alaska, and operated by nonprofit Kodiak Christian Relief Center.
“For most of the delegation, this was the first time visiting the Alaska ministries supported by ABHMS,” said Onwubuariri, director of ABHMS’ Intercultural Ministries. “It was a rich opportunity to experience the fruits of mission work that was started by American Baptists generations ago, to better understand the cultural context for current-day ministry, and to hear directly from leaders their stories about their ministry callings, challenges, joys, and hopes for gospel work still yet to be done.”
These in-person visits are essential for ABHMS staff. “They enable us to pursue our mission, always keeping collaboration and contextual relevance in consideration. Particular takeaways for me were forming new relationships with ministry colleagues and learning more of the intercultural possibilities of the region,” reflected Onwubuariri.
Kodiak Baptist Mission gratefully receives donations for the operation of their programs that benefit children and youth. To donate, go to their website.
By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela, senior writer at ABHMS and assistant editor of The Christian Citizen
