'Rock On'
By Debbie Hightower 06/21/2007

The youth group at Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church recently raised funds to purchase a four-wheeler for a minister in Belize. How did they do it? They rocked... and rocked... and rocked?

The "rock" concert was held on the lawn in front of the church in April. Music was provided by Isaiah's Promise, comprised of church members along with musicians from Archdale United Methodist Church. A hot dog and hamburger cookout was provided by the Family Fellowship Committee.

This is the third year that the youth group has put on "Project Rock". The rock-a-thons have always been done for missions. The first year, Mt. Vernon youth raised $1,200 to benefit Corey Dalton, son of the late teacher Diana Dalton. Some $1,800 was raised the second year to fund the Family Life Center. This year the total exceeded everyone's expectations -- $3,200.

Mt. Vernon's connection to Belize, a small country located south of Mexico and northwest of Guatemala, was tied to its shoe box ministry and a visit by a parishioner.

In the ministry, boxes are filled with gifts. Yvette Cooke, a member at Mt. Vernon, visited Belize in December. She brought back a list of needs, and at the top of that list was a four-wheeler.

In 2001, Don and Cindy Palmer of High Point moved to Belize to found Ministries of the Son of God. They currently have seven churches in Belize with another being built. The Palmers discovered Ambrosio Shal soon after their arrival. Shal felt the call to the ministry, and the Palmers have given him a seminary education in preparation for the work of spreading the gospel and teaching others.

The youth group discovered that Pastor Shal ministers to many people with only his bicycle for transportation. He lives seven miles from the church where his congregation meets, and usually walks or rides his bike. Shal also does the work of a district supervisor, traveling great distances to coordinate and mentor the leaders of six other churches.

Although the youth group at Mt. Vernon is small, with only 14 members, their effort to help Pastor Shal was huge, according to youth leader Angela Bennett. The youth not only had to rock all day, but also collected pledges based on the time they rocked.

Paul Frazier, 15, already had $300 in pledges on Sunday morning. He had gone door-to-door in his neighborhood to gather the donations.

Paul said that he was positive. Instead of asking people if they would give, he instead asked, "How much are you going to sponsor me for?"

To make fund-raising fun, Bennett said the she told the youth that afterwards they could go to eat, and that the youth who raised the most money could pick the restaurant. She said that Hayden Cooke, who already had quite a bit of sponsorship money, told the others that he wanted to go to Sonic.

Paul said that he wasn't going to eat at Sonic. He worked really hard to get a meal at Fire and Sticks. Before the day was over, he had single-handedly collected $807 by the 5 p.m. deadline.

Angela wanted this hard-working group of youngsters to see the fruits of their labor.

If the four-wheeler was purchase locally, however, shipping costs would be prohibitive. Bennett says that presently she is making arrangements through the Palmers for the vehicle to be purchased in South America.

Paul Frazier summed up the reason that the Mt. Vernon youth group wanted to work so hard on this project:

"It was to further God's kingdom in Belize," Paul said.