January 2007 Newsletter

Here are some specific needs:

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Please pray that the hikers that received Christ during Trail Days will remain have an unquenchable thirst to continue to draw closer to Christ. Pray that they will be emboldened to faithfully live out their new lives in Christ.

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Please pray for A.T. Servants and our possible partner in the ministry center. Pray that God will continue to guide our plans for this place.

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Pray that God will raise up Godly Trail Chaplains for A.T. Servants

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As A.T. Servants grows, so does our yearly budget. Please pray that God continues to provide our financial support.

************* Pray that thru- hikers will connect the beauty of the creation around them with the one, true Creator.

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Six hikers receive Christ

During Trail Days 2007

For three days during the week after Mother’s Day, the small town of Damascus is flooded with thousands of hikers for a festival called Trail Days. Present year’s hikers, hikers of old, and wishful hikers all diverge upon the town in order to talk about hiking, check out the latest gear, reconnect with hiking buddies, and party. A group of this size definitely has a lot of physical needs that A.T. Servants can seek to meet in order to gain a voice to help meet the greatest need of all—every person’s need to know Jesus Christ as their Lord. Once again, through the combined efforts of Appalachian Trail Servants, Liberty Park Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama, and Damascus First Baptist Church of Damascus, Virginia, and by the grace of God, Trail Days this year was a huge success.

Over 200 hikers were given medical attention this year. Lines of hikers waited either to see a doctor about a trail related injury or to just check their blood, weight, or blood pressure to make sure they were in good health. No matter the reason for the visit, each hiker’s needs were treated, and then each hiker was told both in word and in deed that Jesus, the Lord of all Creation, loves them and cares for them.

Another need of hikers is a nice, warm shower. Unseasonably cold temperatures sent many hikers in search of a hot shower early each morning. The Virginia Baptist Association’s Disaster Relief heard of that need and allowed us to use their shower unit to provide free showers for the hikers. Word quickly spread about the hottest showers in town and the five-stall unit was full most of the day from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. While hikers waited for their turn in the shower, volunteers mingled with the crowd, talking with them, and showing them the love of Christ. In the end 343 hikers left feeling squeaky clean and warmer both because of the heat of the shower and because of love of Christ’s Church.

By the end of Trail Days, the exhausted teams left victorious knowing that they had been obedient to the call that God placed upon them. Through that obedience, 6 hikers came to know the Lord! Additionally, God is doing great miracles in many hikers lives.

Christians Sacrifice to Serve the Physical Needs of Hikers in Their Area

This year we have seen many Christians step up and take responsibility for the mission field that is literally walking by their front doors. These Christians have sacrificed their time and money, and have been willing to step out of their comfort zones in order to show hikers the love of Christ.

In Franklin, North Carolina, seven churches from the Macon County Baptist Association banded together over a period of about two months to serve about 480 hikers as they hiked through their association. Enduring freezing temperatures, snow, rain, and sometimes heat, the volunteers made sure to let the hikers know that Christians in the area churches love them and that Christ loves them. What an amazing accomplishment!

In Tennessee, Unaka Baptist Church allowed Craig and Suzy to stay in their mission house in order to serve hikers in that area. Additionally, 2006’s Trail Angel of the Year, Brenda Price, has rallied her church, Shady Valley Baptist Church to serve many hikers as they hike through Shady Valley, Tennessee. Many a hiker has commented on the heartfelt love that they have felt from Brenda and her fellow Christians who work diligently to serve hikers’ needs.

A.T. Servants Names the

2007 Trail Angel of the Year

And the 2007 Trail Angel of the Year Award goes too…Macon County Baptist Association for their sacrifice, diligence, and dedication in serving hikers in the name of Jesus Christ! Thank you all in the Macon County Baptist Association for working so hard. Thank you, also, to all the Christians who have so diligently served this year.

Clay and Branch’s Lesson for this Season—

Be willing to Change Your Plans to Align with God’s Plans

March marked the beginning of yet another busy season on the Appalachian Trail. As we left Springer Mountain on March 10, we believed that we were going to be spending a few months in the woods ministering to hikers as we did last season. We had no idea what the season would bring or what God would teach us on the trail. Two days into our hike, Craig twisted his right ankle, tearing a tendon and ending our hike for this year. As we hobbled down the trail to the next major road crossing, we knew that God had altered our plans for the season. He had truly already set up appointments off the trail for us that we would have missed had we been hiking this season. It is our hope that this newsletter would be an encouragement to not let you allow setbacks in your hike of life keep you down. Instead, look to where God is working and join Him there.

A.T. Servants has a New Mailing Address

A.T. Servants recently changed mailing addresses. We love receiving your mail, so we want to ensure that it gets safely to us. Our new mailing address is:

A.T. Servants

P.O. Box 1073

Gainesville, GA 30503

Possible A.T. Servants Ministry Center?

A new possibility has opened up this season for A.T. Servants to partner with a faithful Christian who feels called to serve hikers and Christians on the Appalachian Trail on the North Carolina/Tennessee border. While these plans are still in the very infant stages of possibility, it is exciting to see God work through this partnership.

It is our initial hope that for about two months out of the year hikers will be able to use the facility as a hiker hostel with much of the amenities of home. For the other 10 months of the year, we hope to be able to open up the facility to churches to come and use it for discipleship training, leadership training, and fellowship.

Please pray that God will continue to both lead us and the partner in our decisions concerning this ministry center and that we will be faithfully obedient to His will. We hope to be able to bring more details to you soon as they arise.

Want to Be a Trail Chaplain?

A.T. Servants is Looking for You!

Are you a dedicated Christian that is planning to thru-hike? Do you know a Godly Christian that would be interested in hiking for 3-6 months on the Appalachian Trail? If so, Appalachian Trail Servants needs you! We are actively seeking Trail Chaplains for next year. Please be in prayer that God will provide Godly people to answer His call to be our Trail Chaplains for next year.