Mountain T.O.P. Seeks Volunteers for 2009

ALTAMONT, Tenn. -- Mountain T.O.P. (Tennessee Outreach Project) is now accepting applications for its SpringBREAKOUTreach, Youth Summer Ministry (YSM) and Adults In Ministry (AIM) programs for 2009.

AIM will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2009.

The programs allow volunteers to make a difference in the lives of families from the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee, either through home repair or youth programming.

Mountain T.O.P.'s 2009 camp season will begin with SpringBREAKOUTreach, which offers college-age students or church youth groups (or any other group of willing volunteers) the opportunity to spend their spring break in ministry. This flexible program includes two days of work for Cumberland Mountain families and two days of work on Mountain T.O.P. camp facilities. The program is less structured than Mountain T.O.P.'s youth and adult ministries, and can even include optional activities like caving, hiking or the low ropes challenge course located at Mountain T.O.P.'s base camp.

Steve Frankenfeld first attended SpringBREAKOUTreach while a freshman at Messiah College.

"I believe that the staff at Mountain T.O.P. did a great job of facilitating that and helping us have an enjoyable experience," said Frankenfeld. "In four days of work, we put a tin roof on a building that was approximately 25 feet by 40 feet, we got about halfway done a smaller tin roof, we framed up a wall, finished some more tin roofing, put in our windows, hung one small room of drywall, puttied and sanded that room.”

"We basically kicked butt."

Frankenfeld had such a positive experience that he later returned to Mountain T.O.P. as a summer staff member.

"I also am planning on leading a trip from Messiah to Mountain T.O.P. this coming spring," he said. "Hopefully, I can help others have the same incredible experience that I did."

SpringBREAKOUTreach camps will be offered between Feb. 15 and April 18.

During the summer of 2009, the Youth Summer Ministry and Adults In Ministry programs will take place.

In the Youth Summer Ministry (YSM) program, volunteers, in small work teams, participate in minor home repair projects for mountain families in need or conduct day camp activities for children from isolated mountain communities. In the evenings, they gather for worship and to share the good news about what took place at their individual work sites during the day.

Bryan Bliss is the youth director at Grace United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tenn. He brought youth from his church to Mountain T.O.P. for the first time in 2008.

“As youth leader, I’ve been on a number of mission trips,” he said. “As a first-timer at Mountain T.O.P., I was thrilled to see God in the staff, feel His presence in the worship, and to serve as the hands and feet of his Son during our week. Like I said, I’ve been on lots of mission trips, but Mountain T.O.P. gave me and my youth group something more – an experience where God came close.”

The AIM program places adults on major home repair work teams, or as volunteers in one of two children's programs: Kaleidoscope, an arts camp for special needs children, and Summer Plus, an enrichment camp for teenagers from the mountains. Volunteers of both genders and all skill levels, from novice to expert, are needed in each of the three programs. Anyone and everyone is welcome.

Julie Reeves of City Road Chapel United Methodist in Madison, Tenn., participated in a fall AIM weekend in 2008.

"My experience at AIM was unbelievable," she wrote in her church newsletter. "I had never been on a mission trip before; never been to Mountain T.O.P. before; never used a power saw before. Honestly, I was a little scared to go. I had always made excuses in the past why I couldn't go, but after hearing so many people say how wonderful it was, I had to try. And I am glad I did.

"I saw God [that] weekend. He was in the eyes of a 3-year-old girl, who, 10 seconds after meeting me, jumped into my arms and hugged me. He was in the smile of an 8-year-old girl, who grinned for two whole days and told me she loved me, a complete stranger."

Two week-long AIM events will be held in 2009: June 21-27 (home repair and Summer Plus) and July 5-11 (home repair and Kaleidoscope). Weekend AIM home repair events will also be held during the fall.

Mountain T.O.P., established in 1975, is an interdenominational ministry affiliated with the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church. Volunteers in 2008 came from 100 different churches and 11 different denominations; the United Methodist volunteers alone represented 25 different Annual Conferences.

More information about the SpringBREAKoutreach, YSM and AIM programs, as well as applications for 2009 camp events, can be found on the Mountain T.O.P. web site, www.mountain-top.org, by e-mailing info@mountain-top.org or by calling (931) 692-3999.