Tucked into the woods in Dollywood’s Craftsmans Valley, the Robert F. Thomas Chapel reminds visitors of a simpler time.
In the spring and summer, seasonal flowers bloom near the front steps of the white clapboard church. At Christmas, thousands of twinkling lights adorn the chapel’s exterior, including the bell tower and steeple. Inside, wooden pews and hardwood floors highlight the artistry of local woodworkers. But the chapel does more than add to the mountain character of the popular theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Each Sunday, park employees and visitors are invited inside to worship — to spend time with God in the midst of vacation fun.
During the park’s operating season, guests fill the chapel for the 11:30 a.m. Sunday service. The park map and show schedule includes the worship service, though many guests wander in out of curiosity, said Dollywood chaplain Joey Buck, who preaches at the chapel through the ministry of the Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries (SMRM), a ministry program provided by the Sevier County Association of Baptists, the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board.
Regardless of the reason they come, visitors have the opportunity to step out of the fast pace of Dollywood and into a place of worship.
“About 60 percent of those who join us each week have never been with us, so the unspoken question is ‘Why did you come?’ Some come out of habit or tradition, some because it’s a novelty — a church at a theme park. But many come truly for worship and we remind them that God is at work in their lives, even when they are riding rides and seeing shows at a theme park,” Buck said.
The church at Dollywood is just one of the many worship opportunities available in the resorts and campgrounds in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in the nearby towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. These ministries are coordinated by SMRM, said Bill Black, who along with his wife, Cindy, serves as co-director of the organization. As America’s most visited national park, the Smokies and the surrounding area see 10 million visitors annually. Often forgotten are the thousands of seasonal employees who work in the hotels, restaurants and parks in the area, many of whom are international students. They are not forgotten by SMRM.
“In recent years, God has brought the world to us through both our visitors and through internationals who come to work in our attractions,” Black said. “We are provided an amazing opportunity to impact the world for Christ as they come to us and as they go home after their work season.”
Resort ministry requires creativity, as well as volunteers dedicated to building relationships with others in order to create opportunities to share the gospel, Black said. For example, in SMRM’s ministry to internationals, many of whom work at Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park, missions volunteers often invite students into their homes for meals, drive them to shopping centers and even ski or hike with them. Such contacts first show the love of Christ even as they open the door for deeper personal conversations about what it means to be a Christian, Black said.
In the winter months, many of the international students come to the United States from South America to work at restaurants, hotels and attractions like Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park. These students are generally middle and upper class students studying to be lawyers, doctors and engineers, and they are seeking an experience in the United States during their summer breaks.
In the spring and summer, students from Eastern Europe and Asia arrive, with the same needs for friendship and assistance.
During all seasons, missions volunteers with SMRM are ready to help the seasonal employees who work in the tourism industry, Black said.
Guests at Ober Gatlinburg are not left out either. Like visitors to Dollywood, skiers at Ober Gatlinburg have an opportunity to worship on the mountain each Sunday morning. The idea of skiing to worship at the top of the bunny slope may sound strange, but Scotti Simpson, a member of the Baptist Campus Ministries at Jacksonville State University and a mission volunteer with SMRM for several seasons, said the experience is like no other.
“Some of the most holy moments I’ve ever experienced in worship happened on top of the mountain at Ober,” he said, including one morning when snow began to fall on the 40 or so skiers just as they began to sing.
Simpson also preached at several campgrounds in the area during his time with SMRM. Each situation was different, he said. Sometimes there would be kids swimming in the pool as he spoke, other times he would be in a campground office. Doing missions in a resort setting requires an ability to “go with the flow and be flexible,” he said, but the lasting impact is worth it.
“We’ve seen people all over the world saved because we made a friend and shared the gospel,” Simpson said.
Sharing Jesus
Recently a friend from Ober named Jackie e-mailed Simpson from China to let him know that he had become a believer after learning about Jesus in Gatlinburg.
“He is now a missionary in China, and he wrote, ‘I just want you to know that this is the difference you made in my life’ by sharing Jesus with him,” Simpson said.
Stories like Jackie’s remind Buck of the intentional approach to ministry that SMRM strives to follow. Whether it’s inviting someone on a hike or packing an extra bag of marshmallows to share with the family at the campsite next door, each moment in life is an opportunity to be part of what God is doing.
“God is always at work around us, and I don’t have to do something to be on mission. I just need to be on mission,” he said.
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