By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
Dan Rush said someone told him once that everyone at the beach was running away from something.
Rush didn’t buy it at first. But the more he thought about it, he said he realized it was true.
“Sometimes they’re just getting away from everything to relax and sometimes they’re trying to get away from a crisis that they will have to deal with when they get back,” he said.
Building friendships
Whatever it is they’re escaping from, Rush likes to offer them a little encouragement to take home with them. In his work as a park chaplain with Gulf Area Resort Ministry of Baldwin Baptist Association, he holds services at RV parks in the Gulf Shores area and spends a lot of time getting to know people.
“We have built friendships there and gotten to do some pastoral ministry,” Rush said, noting that especially during the winter snowbird season, people will often stay for months at a time. “There are a lot of senior adults and health problems come up sometimes,” he said. “We’ve been able to be there in a bigger way than just between closing and opening prayers of a service.”
But the services are a part of Rush’s role that he loves, too. Before he and his wife, Kathy, moved to the area from Illinois, he had served more than 30 years in pastoral ministry there.
Now for the past five years he’s been shepherding the little flock that gathers every Sunday morning when he and Kathy bring food and fresh brewed coffee to the RV park.
“We have a mini congregation there,” said Rush, who also works as a glass blower at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach. They also hold Wednesday night services and extra activities like movie nights.
‘Not watered down’
“It’s been fun,” he said. “I tell people whether they’re there for a weekend or longer, we want to share something with you that hopefully will encourage you when you get back. And it’s not watered down — we preach the gospel. And there are always a few people who say, ‘I really needed that.’”
During the COVID-19 crisis, they — like other congregations — had to adapt. They did a drive-in service at the campground for Easter and set up a stage using picnic tables. They started streaming services online as well.
“The first few weeks were mostly friends and acquaintances whose churches were closed, but now we’re seeing more people in the campgrounds,” he said.
Nate Diehl, GARM director, said resort and beach ministry on the Gulf Coast gives him, Rush and many others the chance to connect with people they might never have the opportunity to in other settings.
“Whether it’s students on work-related, internship-type things or whether it be vacationers coming from all over the place, we have the opportunity of planting a seed that’s going to go far beyond Baldwin County,” Diehl said.
“That’s definitely an exciting aspect of this type of ministry.”
In the winter months ministry in the parks like what Rush does is a big focus for GARM. In the other seasons, ministry on the coast involves a lot of volunteers and different types of outreach.
One example is how at the recent Shrimp Festival, teams came in and helped with snacks and games for children and used creative ways to engage people with the gospel.
Opportunities to serve
“There’s a lot of opportunity and open doors for people to serve,” Diehl said. “We have youth groups that come into the area and serve as their missions trip for the summer. Around 90% of our volunteers are coming in from outside the area.”
Dauphin Island Baptist Church in Mobile Baptist Association also hosts a lot of out-of-town youth groups who come to help with local ministry.
“For more than 40 years, we’ve been hosting youth groups in the summer,” Pastor Chris Schansberg said.
Around 600 to 700 students come each summer to help area churches with Vacation Bible School and to do canvassing and outreach. They also help area ministries with food distribution and lead worship services at rehab centers.
While there, they stay at Dauphin Island Baptist’s Resort Ministry and Conference Center, which can host up to 200 guests at a time.
“Those groups have done a lot of good through the years,” Schansberg said.
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