“Do what’s right and don’t tell anybody.” That’s what Don Hammonds of the Home Mission Board told me when I was making a hard decision in the mid-1980’s.
“It doesn’t matter who gets the credit as long as the job gets done.” This was a guiding principle of Paul Hall of the Tennessee Baptist Convention that we honor in Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries.
“Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries does more in a day than most churches do in a week. It does more in a week than they do in a month.” Scott Capshaw of First Baptist Church, Tahoe City, CA.
Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries has always been an active and powerful ministry. Our work has remained accurate and focused as an evangelistic mission expression. Our ministry continues to be vital and viable in the resort settings of Sevier County.
Our missions training and Christian life development of volunteers is growing the Church all over the world.
Just recently I did a wedding for a couple. They are both ministers and the wedding took place on hallowed ground here in our county. While they both work in family ministries, his ministry gift is that of prayerful insight and hers is that of problem solving. They make a great couple. The wedding was a holy experience. The event was very photogenic and could have made a great SMRM promotion in social media—but I did no such promotion. Most importantly, the event was a holy moment that honored God and the couple. I could hear Don Hammonds and Paul Hall encouraging me to stay in the moment and be fully present. This is the daily life of SMRM: an incarnational ministry that reveals the presence of God in peoples’ lives through intentional witness.
Just recently we had 1300 people in worship at our Easter Sunrise Worship service at Ober Gatlinburg. I have no pictures and only a great heart-felt gratitude of Easter.
Just recently we helped a resort employee move out of her car with her two children (where they had spent the winter) and into a home.
Just recently three men who work at various resorts made Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord.
Today, I pray “God bring us to the one who needs you today. And give me a lick of sense to recognize them.” (Still my daily prayer!)
Even though we are as God-blessed as ever in our work, our story is not being told and our financial needs are not being met. We have never developed a culture of giving to Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries. What we have never been and are not doing well now is telling our story. What we are doing is relying on God to provide the financial resources for this ministry. What we need now is for you to give financially to SMRM. It is really very simple. We need the SMRM family to prayerfully make SMRM part of your giving to God. We need regular gifts of any amount that help us through the seasons. We need creative gifts that enable needs to be met and hopes to be fulfilled.
You can mail checks to SMRM at PO Box 114, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 or you can give online.
Edit from past SMRM’er: All of the things in this post are about building relationships to share the gospel and/or grow in the gospel. Current and Future SMRM’ers need our support to so that they can be in relationship and share the gospel. Personally, I am thankful that so many gave through the HMB and TBC that allowed me to serve and be in relationship to share the gospel in the smokies. Those funds are no longer available. Will you be part of their story by giving?
