Published: September 17, 2008 07:57 am            

‘With One Voice’ Car Show

Eubank Baptist celebrates Statewide Day of Prayer

On Sept. 10, 2008, Eubank Baptist Church’s First Wednesday of the church year coincided with the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Statewide Day of Prayer.

The church celebrated in a unique manner which fully involved the youth of the congregation.

Two automobiles were decorated by four teams of students with paint schemes using the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Statewide Day of Prayer theme “With One Voice.”

Youth Pastor Ryan Coffey said that the aim “... was to ensure that the church’s youth were also included in the ‘With One Voice’ proceedings.”

That goal seemed to be well accomplished by the end of the evening’s services.

Coffey had almost 50 middle school and high school students to work with on this project. The plan was to break them into four teams and allow those teams to compete in decorating two cars, which had been donated by Gary Harness and Jeff Wilson, with a scheme about prayer and “With One Voice.”

Using spray paint, tape and stencils each team had to work together to come up with a design scheme and then to paint that scheme onto their half of the donated autos.

Once the object of the lesson was explained, the students literally ran to their tasks. They had 45 minutes to develop consensus on design and to translate that design onto the metal bodies via various colors of spray paint.

The young people took to their design stage quickly and soon a veritable cloud of spray paint hung over the area. Although laughter and good-natured banter were everywhere, it was obvious that these artists gave serious consideration to the goal of expressing the dual “With One Voice” and “Prayer” messages.

Once the time was up, the cloud dissipated and the rattle of spray cans had died down these students had created positive – and colorful – expressions of the Baptist Convention’s theme for the day.

Pastor Coffey had the teams take a few minutes to look at the works of the other competing teams before assembling everyone en masse for the judging.

Winning teams and categories were:

• Craziest Design: Team 4 with leader Calena Phelps

• Best Message: Team 2 with leader Jordan Miller

• Most Creative: Team 1 with leader Johni Way

• Best Overall Design and Message: Team 3 with leaders Meagan Chaney and Hannah Blevins

There was a great deal of exuberant laughter and cheering as Pastor Coffey announced the various winners and awarded prizes of toy cars, auto air-fresheners, T-shirts and DVDs. He then reintroduced the theme of the day as he discussed how the goal was to have everyone give heartfelt prayer for the state’s church and political leaders as well as for the military and local leaders, family and friends.

Coffey then focused the students on prayer for lost souls to come to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Afterward, a significant quiet came over the group and everyone took to their own prayers.

The students in this exercise are, indeed, our leaders of tomorrow. With guidance such as they received on this evening they have very good prospects.

Pastor Coffey has been youth minister at Eubank Baptist Church since 2005.

The senior pastor is the Rev. Shelby Reynolds and the church is located at 12150 North U.S. 27, Eubank, Ky. 42567. The church phone number is 606 379-2122 and may be found on the Internet at http://eubankbaptist.org/

        

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