The massive influx of workers to North Dakota and eastern Montana to the Bakken Oil fields has been in the news lately. Many challenges face workers and families as they come to the area seeking work. Cities like Williston and Watford City in North Dakota and Sidney in Montana have seen housing issues, crime, increased drug distribution and infrastructure needs skyrocket as a result. How do we minister in this new situation? In February of 2013, the Yellowstone Conference Board of Trustees received word that royalties from an oil well in North Dakota were assigned to the Yellowstone Conference and that payments would begin shortly. At the same time, District Superintendent Kama Hamilton Morton and Assistant to the Bishop David Burt were also involved in meetings in Williston N.D. with pastors and conference staff from the Dakotas Conference about ministry possibilities in the Bakken Oil Development region. Ideas were floated on sharing resources and creating outreach ministries to oil rig workers and families who were coming to the area. Dan Freed pastors First United Methodist Church in Dickenson North Dakota, and he shared with the group a conversation he had with his son about the challenges in providing outreach to the oil workers. Dan reported that his son told him that to share what the United Methodist church has to offer, we needed to “get in the cab” with the workers. When pressed by Dan as to what he meant by that, his son told him that radio outreach was necessary. Oil workers often spend many hours each day in their rigs and have only the radio for company. The Yellowstone Conference Board of Trustees decided that any funds coming from the oil well royalties would be devoted to new ministries in the Bakken. From that decision, a series of radio announcements were produced. Written by David Burt and produced by Dave Merkel (who also composed the musical bed for the spots), these announcements provide uplifting and informational content while also highlighting United Methodist church ministries in both Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota. Dave Merkel, who pastors at Shiloh UMC in Billings, and Anita Saas, our Conference Treasurer and Benefits Officer have provided the voices for these radio announcements. Mark Waddington, spouse of pastor Vicki Waddington in Sidney, works for a radio network with stations in Sidney and Williston and has been instrumental on securing time on the stations for these spots to air. The Yellowstone Conference Congregational Development team is now creating a new website to continue to provide inspiring and connection information for people in the region. A new series of radio spots will be produced to bring attention to the new website. Look for the new site to begin soon at Rollingwell. Pastor John Nadasi, our pastor in Plentywood, Redstone and Scobey has agreed to be the Coordinator of the website. The royalties from the oil well exceeded expectations, and the Conference Trustees and Congregational Development team are working together to develop a plan to further use these funds for new ministry opportunities in the Yellowstone segment of the Bakken region. Jim and Kathy Konser are two lay missionaries who are developing a new United Methodist ministry in Watford City North Dakota called “Oil Rush Ministries.” Their outreach includes a mobile “Free Store”, modeled on the Free Stores in Billings and Sidney. You can check out part of their story by clicking on this link: news.msn/in-depth/missionaries-find-big-challenges-in-us-oil-fields?j=132436&e=elainejws@comcast.net&l=460_HTML&u=3716798&mid=6206185&jb=13 Exciting things are happening in the Bakken, and your Yellowstone Conference is involved in this new and growing mission field.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 20:59:03 +0000
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