Reaching Wisconsin Dells

April 15th Meeting Minutes

In addition to our regular crew, we were joined tonight by four members of Pine Valley Church in the Wisconsin Dells. Safe to say I think we're all really excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing how God will work in the coming months!

Pastor Jay Heesch shared some numbers to keep in mind:
3800 international students working in the Dells from Memorial Day through Labor Day
1800 Hispanic workers year round
2300 HoChunk natives
4000 anglo Dells residents
(plus 3.1 million tourists/year)

Bowman Park is not looking to be a good option for block parties, concerts, etc. It's not available on Sunday, and is only available for 2-hour time blocks. Several alternatives were discussed including Fireman's Park by Lake Delton (close to Little Mexico), Riverview Park (has numerous pavilions), and the field by the library.

Sunday schedule:
Following Sunday morning church service/prior to 2pm meeting - prayerwalking in the Dells
2pm - Kick-off meeting @ Antiqua Bay (this is the location where Pine Valley meets...seats approx 300); care bag assembling to follow
5pm - Block Party at Fireman's Park by Lake Delton (*fliers will need to be distributed in Little Mexico on Saturday and Sunday) - opportunity to invite guests to Backyard Bible clubs, ESL, etc. As we have an opportunity to minister to Hispanics, volunteers who speak Spanish would be most welcome!

Note: because the kick-off is being held in the Dells (not in Portage), and because the block party will be serving dinner as well, we thought it best to move this evening event up to 5pm instead of 7pm.

Existing Ministries w/Leaders:
1. Elderly Visitation - Anne Zinsmeister
2. Building & Grounds Light Construction @ River - Frank Vandersump
3. ESL Ministry - Caryn Jette
4. Block Parties - Paul & Kelly Zuelke
5. CEF Events - Johanna Wynn
6. County Fair - Paul & Kelly Zuelke
7. Backyard Bible Clubs - Nikki Zacijeck & ??
8. Prayerwalking - Mark Millman
9. Public Prayer Booth - Jay Heesch & ??
10. Care Packages - Zuelkes & possibly River's guest package team

Still need leaders for:
*11. Follow-Up (This is super HIGH priority! Pastor Bob will be asking someone about taking this on)
*12. Servant Evangelism (also a priority item)
13. Hotel Lobby Ministry
14. Waterpark Pavilion

ACTION ITEM FOR ALL MINISTRY LEADERS:
Fill out ministry spreadsheet indicating name of ministry, # of volunteers needed, location, time, addl resources & prep work required, and specific skillset needed. Pastor Bob will post this on the blog for our use.

Additional Notes for Each Ministry:
#3 ESL Ministry - Pine Valley's most successful time in the summer working with Hispanics in Little Mexico is 4-8pm; International students will not have a 'set' schedule...they often work late...will need to consider how to best minister to their needs.

#4 Block Parties - discussed possible locations (as listed above); discussed purpose of block party and possibility of holding a raffle and using raffle entry as 'registration' forms (also acknowledged that registration in Little Mexico may not be feasible); Jeanne W. shared that the WMU provide the funds for Block Party Trailer supplies.

#6 County Fair - Need approx 6 volunteers to help with set-up on Wednesday (checking on the time); Thursday will need volunteers to serve in 3 hour time blocks from 10am - 4pm.

#7 Backyard Bible Clubs - possible locations are Little Mexico and the HoChunk Wellness Center. Plus 2 other locations. Will probably need a 2-1/2 hour timeslot per location per day to be held Monday - Wednesday (maybe Thursday).

#8 Prayerwalking - as prayer is the foundation to this event, we'll plan to prayerwalk prior to the 2pm Sunday meeting (anyone on site can participate). We'll also have an opportunity to prayerwalk on Monday morning, and will encourage volunteers to find time daily to spend prayerwalking. Prayerwalking leader will provide locations and specific prayer requests, and print a simple prayer guide.

#9 Public Prayer Booth - Jay Heesch is checking into getting a permit for this on Broadway.

#10 Care Packages - planning for 500 bags; suggested we provide each volunteer's church with an item or two to collect (after the meeting, Kelly located in a catalog pre-packaged clear bags w/all the items we want to provide and logos printed on the bags...she'll be discussing with Kristy)

Celebration Dinner - Need to find a location since Bowman Park is out. Considering Paquette Park in Portage (only $20 fee to use and doesn't require going before a board for approval!) No one was assigned to this...anyone???

I know there was a lot discussed. Very hard to capture EVERYTHING! Let me know if I missed anything!

Reminder - Meeting tonight @ 6 PM

Last minute reminder that we have the Dells planning @ 6 PM tonight at River of Life Church.