Magician Mark Toland likes to give back.
“I didn’t really have someone teaching me,” magic when young, he said, “but I had a really good book with colorful props.”
While that was enough to hook Toland, he said there’s no replacement for a live teacher.
“Just having someone there to do the tricks and seeing how amazing that can be” is the best you can offer budding learners, he noted.
So Saturday, Toland will offer a free workshop in slight of hand and simple card tricks to 20 area youth.
The workshop is sponsored by Iolan Jim Talkington, and half the slots are already full, Toland said.
“I put together little packets of things” kids can use to perform magic, Toland said, focusing on “things that they’ll find around the house.”
The class will teach “a combination of self-working magic and simple slight of hand,” Toland noted.
“There’ no complicated” tricks, he said. Still, he’ll the teach 8- to 14-year-olds “five or six tricks with props and teach them what makes that magic.”
It’s not just about the trick, Toland said, but how the trick is performed.
“It’s just getting them excited,” and showing them that magic is theater, he said.
“I don’t know if anyone will take it as seriously as I did when I was young,” Toland said, “but if one or two kids get hooked, it’s worth it.”
Toland’s workshop is at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Warehouse Theatre at 203 S. Jefferson. Reservations must be made by calling Jim Talkington at 365-2042.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Opinion: Trail extension beneficial to all
I have been reading with interest all the forum letters regarding the Prairie Spirit Trail and its use in and around Iola.
As a reporter, I am loathe to put forth an opinion, as objectivity is the foundation of my work.
However, I am taken aback every time I see “not enough people use it anyway,” expressed in these letters.
I ask: Have you walked the trail? Not through town, where it sidles up to parking lots and speeding streets, but the undeveloped and lesser developed parts of the trail, along Riverside park and beyond the Iola city limits.
This weekend, after the heavy snow, my neighbor and I went down to ht trail. It’s our usual Sunday walk and we weren’t to be deterred by snow.
A family, we found, was sledding down the hillsides, squeals of delight coming form well-bundled children, parents red-faced and smiling running after them.
In Riverside Park, the last time I walk e the de-facto trail, a group of high school aged boys was just coming off.
Other days I have seen older women, young couples, joggers with dogs.
Kansas, for all its beauty, has very little public land.
A people needs access to freedom — it’s a constitutional, and spiritual — need. For me, the rail trail provides that opportunity, to stretch my legs, to leave the burdens of every day behind. I enjoy God’s creation. I listen to His birds. I watch His sunsets and see His green grass growing.
I ponder truths and consequences as I watch ripples on green water form the many small bridges over creeks and along ditches.
I see rabbits scuttle off with their oversized back legs and laugh at their comical form.
This little bit of nature in an urban setting keeps me sane.
I see users: I am on the trail frequently.
I urge those of you who think it doesn’t get use to try it for yourself. Slow down. Walk awhile. Breathe.
Leave the I-pods and cell phones and worries at home. Enjoy the world off the street and out of your cars that you might not otherwise see.
And then, consider extending the trail.
As a reporter, I am loathe to put forth an opinion, as objectivity is the foundation of my work.
However, I am taken aback every time I see “not enough people use it anyway,” expressed in these letters.
I ask: Have you walked the trail? Not through town, where it sidles up to parking lots and speeding streets, but the undeveloped and lesser developed parts of the trail, along Riverside park and beyond the Iola city limits.
This weekend, after the heavy snow, my neighbor and I went down to ht trail. It’s our usual Sunday walk and we weren’t to be deterred by snow.
A family, we found, was sledding down the hillsides, squeals of delight coming form well-bundled children, parents red-faced and smiling running after them.
In Riverside Park, the last time I walk e the de-facto trail, a group of high school aged boys was just coming off.
Other days I have seen older women, young couples, joggers with dogs.
Kansas, for all its beauty, has very little public land.
A people needs access to freedom — it’s a constitutional, and spiritual — need. For me, the rail trail provides that opportunity, to stretch my legs, to leave the burdens of every day behind. I enjoy God’s creation. I listen to His birds. I watch His sunsets and see His green grass growing.
I ponder truths and consequences as I watch ripples on green water form the many small bridges over creeks and along ditches.
I see rabbits scuttle off with their oversized back legs and laugh at their comical form.
This little bit of nature in an urban setting keeps me sane.
I see users: I am on the trail frequently.
I urge those of you who think it doesn’t get use to try it for yourself. Slow down. Walk awhile. Breathe.
Leave the I-pods and cell phones and worries at home. Enjoy the world off the street and out of your cars that you might not otherwise see.
And then, consider extending the trail.
Board accepts rec budget
HUMBOLDT — K.B. Criss’s first official meeting as new superintendent of USD 258 was a quiet one, mostly bookkeeping to do with the beginning of the school year: Board representatives were named and final budget transfers made.
Most discussion was generated by the Humboldt Recreation Commission budget and plans for the next Building Trades program house.
The Rec budget was approved 5-2 for $63,765; $39,523 of that was slated for personnel expenses — mainly the cost of adding lights to a new baseball/softball field, said outgoing Rec President Sheila Brown.
Large banks of halogen lights needed to light the field are “extremely expensive,” Brown said. The commission is looking into purchasing a used set from the city of Neodesha, and used posts to mount the lights from Weststar Energy, she said. Even so, the money budgeted “might not even cover all of” the cost, she said.
The unnamed softball and baseball field, located on 12th Street near Sweatt/Manion fields, should receive a moniker come fall, noted Criss.
Humboldt Middle School students began a contest to decide a name near the end of the 2009 -2010 school year, which Criss noted should recommence in August once school is back in session.
The field is not anticipated to be ready for use until after Feb. 27, 2011, Brown said, a date determined by the commission and high school officials to allow for spring ball practice.
Humboldt’s Recreation Commission is funded through a mill levy administered via the school board. The commission had a cash balance of $45,308 from the previous year.
Other expenditures approved by the board included $4,543.75 bid by Hofer & Hofer & Associates of Humboldt to construct a permanent wall in the elementary school library. The wall will replace a sliding wall that is in disrepair, Criss said.
The 2010-2011 budget was based on enrollment numbers of 522.5 full time equivalent students. As of July 1, per pupil state aid was set at $4,012.
The district saw an increase of $67,750 in its general fund to accommodate a higher number of at-risk students; $20,000 was also added to the special education budget.
HOUSE plans were approved for the next building trades home, to be constructed at 1212 Mulberry St. A 1,890 square foot home is planned.
The plan is a modification of last year’s home, said building trades board representative Dan Wielert. “We’re gearing it towards family use,” he said.
Earth work will be needed on the lot to ensure proper drainage before the house is begun, Wielert said.
An estimated sale price near $100,000 is anticipated.
Former district superintendent Bob Heigele will be hired as a consultant for the coming school year on as “as needed” basis. No salary figure was given.
Criss, with the help of Humboldt educators, will review board policy on an ongoing basis throughout the school year, he said.
Most discussion was generated by the Humboldt Recreation Commission budget and plans for the next Building Trades program house.
The Rec budget was approved 5-2 for $63,765; $39,523 of that was slated for personnel expenses — mainly the cost of adding lights to a new baseball/softball field, said outgoing Rec President Sheila Brown.
Large banks of halogen lights needed to light the field are “extremely expensive,” Brown said. The commission is looking into purchasing a used set from the city of Neodesha, and used posts to mount the lights from Weststar Energy, she said. Even so, the money budgeted “might not even cover all of” the cost, she said.
The unnamed softball and baseball field, located on 12th Street near Sweatt/Manion fields, should receive a moniker come fall, noted Criss.
Humboldt Middle School students began a contest to decide a name near the end of the 2009 -2010 school year, which Criss noted should recommence in August once school is back in session.
The field is not anticipated to be ready for use until after Feb. 27, 2011, Brown said, a date determined by the commission and high school officials to allow for spring ball practice.
Humboldt’s Recreation Commission is funded through a mill levy administered via the school board. The commission had a cash balance of $45,308 from the previous year.
Other expenditures approved by the board included $4,543.75 bid by Hofer & Hofer & Associates of Humboldt to construct a permanent wall in the elementary school library. The wall will replace a sliding wall that is in disrepair, Criss said.
The 2010-2011 budget was based on enrollment numbers of 522.5 full time equivalent students. As of July 1, per pupil state aid was set at $4,012.
The district saw an increase of $67,750 in its general fund to accommodate a higher number of at-risk students; $20,000 was also added to the special education budget.
HOUSE plans were approved for the next building trades home, to be constructed at 1212 Mulberry St. A 1,890 square foot home is planned.
The plan is a modification of last year’s home, said building trades board representative Dan Wielert. “We’re gearing it towards family use,” he said.
Earth work will be needed on the lot to ensure proper drainage before the house is begun, Wielert said.
An estimated sale price near $100,000 is anticipated.
Former district superintendent Bob Heigele will be hired as a consultant for the coming school year on as “as needed” basis. No salary figure was given.
Criss, with the help of Humboldt educators, will review board policy on an ongoing basis throughout the school year, he said.
Programs promote home ownership
The Iola office of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development lauded two homeowners for their participation in USDA grant and loan programs that encourage home ownership and maintenance Tuesday.
Randy Snider, area director, noted that the recognition “focus(es) on people who have been kind and unique to work with.”
Helen Hill and Rhett and Janelle Allee received framed certificates noting their “utilization of our programs and” — in the case of Hill — maintaining home ownership,” Snider said.
Hill received funds through a combination grant/loan program to replace her water line, hot water tank and furnace.
“It felt great to get in the shower and actually get wet,” she said of the work.
About four years ago, Hill re-roofed her home at 123 N. First St. through a similar USDA program. She has lived in the home since June 1, 1959.
“I sure appreciate the help,” the 75-year-old Hill said. “I never could have done it by myself.”
Hill noted she paid off her last loan, which can have interest rates as low as 1 percent, in less than three years, thanks to the reasonable payments the program provides.
Her current funds came through the USDA 504 Program, which calculates repayment “based on age and capacity to repay,” Snider said.
“I think they do wonderful work,” Hill noted of the assistance.
IN RURAL Iola, Rhett and Janelle Allee’s four-year-old son scurried about his living room, with cartoons on the television and cows in a pasture out the window.
The Allees were able to purchase the home at 1700 Mississippi Rd., which sits on five acres, through a USDA 502 Program loan. Rural homes can have acreage, providing the land value does not exceed 30 percent of the total appraised value of the property, Snider said.
The Allees were given a 100 percent loan on the home, requiring no money down.
“It was a lot of paperwork but it was manageable,” Rhett Allee noted of the program.
Without the USDA loan, the Allees were in a bind in their search for affordable housing.
With strict lending requirements limiting them, “the banks can’t loan money right now,” Rhett said, “and we can’t save up 20 percent for a down payment.”
Rhett works at Gates Manufacturing while Janelle is a K-12 music teacher for the Crest school district. Even so, payments on a conventional loan would have been too much for the couple, he said.
Right now, “we have about three years worth of funds to use in one year,” thanks to federal stimulus funds provided through the Obama administration’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Tim Rogers, state housing program director. “The staff is ready to work hard and find some unique ways to get money out the door.”
Contact USDA Rural Development at 365-2901 extension 4, or www.rurdev.usda.gov and click on the housing tab for more information.
In Iola, Area Specialist Randy Woodruff focuses on the guaranteed loan program while Area Technician Shalawnda McVey and Area Specialist Marilyn Dean work primarily with single family direct loan programs, Snider said.
About 100 families statewide have been helped so far in the fiscal 2009-2010 year, Rogers said.
Randy Snider, area director, noted that the recognition “focus(es) on people who have been kind and unique to work with.”
Helen Hill and Rhett and Janelle Allee received framed certificates noting their “utilization of our programs and” — in the case of Hill — maintaining home ownership,” Snider said.
Hill received funds through a combination grant/loan program to replace her water line, hot water tank and furnace.
“It felt great to get in the shower and actually get wet,” she said of the work.
About four years ago, Hill re-roofed her home at 123 N. First St. through a similar USDA program. She has lived in the home since June 1, 1959.
“I sure appreciate the help,” the 75-year-old Hill said. “I never could have done it by myself.”
Hill noted she paid off her last loan, which can have interest rates as low as 1 percent, in less than three years, thanks to the reasonable payments the program provides.
Her current funds came through the USDA 504 Program, which calculates repayment “based on age and capacity to repay,” Snider said.
“I think they do wonderful work,” Hill noted of the assistance.
IN RURAL Iola, Rhett and Janelle Allee’s four-year-old son scurried about his living room, with cartoons on the television and cows in a pasture out the window.
The Allees were able to purchase the home at 1700 Mississippi Rd., which sits on five acres, through a USDA 502 Program loan. Rural homes can have acreage, providing the land value does not exceed 30 percent of the total appraised value of the property, Snider said.
The Allees were given a 100 percent loan on the home, requiring no money down.
“It was a lot of paperwork but it was manageable,” Rhett Allee noted of the program.
Without the USDA loan, the Allees were in a bind in their search for affordable housing.
With strict lending requirements limiting them, “the banks can’t loan money right now,” Rhett said, “and we can’t save up 20 percent for a down payment.”
Rhett works at Gates Manufacturing while Janelle is a K-12 music teacher for the Crest school district. Even so, payments on a conventional loan would have been too much for the couple, he said.
Right now, “we have about three years worth of funds to use in one year,” thanks to federal stimulus funds provided through the Obama administration’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Tim Rogers, state housing program director. “The staff is ready to work hard and find some unique ways to get money out the door.”
Contact USDA Rural Development at 365-2901 extension 4, or www.rurdev.usda.gov and click on the housing tab for more information.
In Iola, Area Specialist Randy Woodruff focuses on the guaranteed loan program while Area Technician Shalawnda McVey and Area Specialist Marilyn Dean work primarily with single family direct loan programs, Snider said.
About 100 families statewide have been helped so far in the fiscal 2009-2010 year, Rogers said.
Iola Auto Body does repairs right
Service is key at Utley’s Iola Auto Body.
The business, at 324 N. State St., was started by Larry and Sharon Utley in 1974.
Larry is still there; his son Curtis and his wife, Amy, became business co-owners in 2006.
Curtis Utley noted that the business’s longevity attests to the quality of service provided.
Utley’s Iola Auto Body is an ASE-certified shop that specializes in complete body repair including frame straightening, wheel alignment, light mechanical and tune ups. The auto body shop does primarily insurance-funded repairs on vehicles, though “we do some custom and restoration work” as well, Utley said.
The shop also has “a large volume of auto body hardware” available to individuals or other shops that need it for repair work.
Iola Auto Body has an “S21 dedicated frame machine that can handle any car” — from small cars to one ton pickups — whether they are foreign or domestic models, Utley added. The auto body shop can also repair “big truck front ends,” Utley said.
And, “We’ve really gotten into suspension service since we’ve gotten into wheel alignment,” Utley said. So much so that tire shops send their cars to Utley’s for the computerized, laser alignments that the shop has been doing “for about 10 years now,” he said.
Suspension work includes struts, ball joints, shocks and tie rod ends, he said.
“We have all the up-to-date equipment,” Utley noted. “We have the specific tools needed for the jobs.”
Utley’s also custom mixes paint colors using a PPG Deltron 2000 base coat/clear coat system, Utley said. The computerized system allows for matching custom colors, he noted.
In addition to cars and trucks, Utley’s can also paint lawn furniture and doors for homes, he said. “We’ve even painted some tractors.”
Along with custom paint, Utleys also does spray in bed liners and fiberglass repair.
“If somebody bangs up a boat, we can fix that,” he said.
A full list of services is available at www.iolaautobody.com.
Utley’s Iola Auto Body supports local schools and is a member of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. They also have a secure key drop off for those who need to leave a vehicle outside of regular business hours.
The business, at 324 N. State St., was started by Larry and Sharon Utley in 1974.
Larry is still there; his son Curtis and his wife, Amy, became business co-owners in 2006.
Curtis Utley noted that the business’s longevity attests to the quality of service provided.
Utley’s Iola Auto Body is an ASE-certified shop that specializes in complete body repair including frame straightening, wheel alignment, light mechanical and tune ups. The auto body shop does primarily insurance-funded repairs on vehicles, though “we do some custom and restoration work” as well, Utley said.
The shop also has “a large volume of auto body hardware” available to individuals or other shops that need it for repair work.
Iola Auto Body has an “S21 dedicated frame machine that can handle any car” — from small cars to one ton pickups — whether they are foreign or domestic models, Utley added. The auto body shop can also repair “big truck front ends,” Utley said.
And, “We’ve really gotten into suspension service since we’ve gotten into wheel alignment,” Utley said. So much so that tire shops send their cars to Utley’s for the computerized, laser alignments that the shop has been doing “for about 10 years now,” he said.
Suspension work includes struts, ball joints, shocks and tie rod ends, he said.
“We have all the up-to-date equipment,” Utley noted. “We have the specific tools needed for the jobs.”
Utley’s also custom mixes paint colors using a PPG Deltron 2000 base coat/clear coat system, Utley said. The computerized system allows for matching custom colors, he noted.
In addition to cars and trucks, Utley’s can also paint lawn furniture and doors for homes, he said. “We’ve even painted some tractors.”
Along with custom paint, Utleys also does spray in bed liners and fiberglass repair.
“If somebody bangs up a boat, we can fix that,” he said.
A full list of services is available at www.iolaautobody.com.
Utley’s Iola Auto Body supports local schools and is a member of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. They also have a secure key drop off for those who need to leave a vehicle outside of regular business hours.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Logo sought for Family Reading Fest
Iola Public Library is seeking an original design to serve as a logo for its new Family Reading Festival.
The Sept. 18 festival is a “project that is part of the grant the city of Iola received for library programs and services about a year ago,” said library Director Roger Carswell.
City commissioners originally sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., seeking construction money for the library, Carswell said.
“They said ‘We can’t do that, but we can give you money for programs and services,’” he noted.
The library received $47,161 to use over the course of two years. The Family Reading Festival will mark the final event funded by the grant.
The one day festival will feature numerous authors, most with some tie to Kansas, Carswell said.
Present will be Judith Miller, a Christian fiction author, Max McCoy, who writes westerns, thrillers and “was tapped by Lucasfilm to write some Indiana Jones books,” and David A. Nichols, who, Carswell said, “probably wrote the definitive work on Dwight D. Eisenhower.”
Lisa Harkrader will also be there. She was “one of two William Allen White award winners last year, and is the author of the fall 2010 Iola Reads selection, ‘Air Ball: My Life in Briefs,’” Carswell said. All the authors will give readings and sign books, Carswell said.
Additional authors are expected as well, Carswell said, including more young adult and children’s authors.
The Family Reading Festival will take place at Allen County Community College.
Before it does, though, the library needs a logo for the event.
“We decided we wanted a logo to go with it and we had a successful contest with the Iola Reads logo” in 2005, Carswell said, “So we thought we’d have another contest” for the Family Reads Festival.
Entry forms are available at all USD 257 schools, ACCC, Iola Area Chamber of Commerce and the library itself. There is no age limit. Entries must be the creator’s original design and contain the words “Iola” and “Family Reading Festival.”
Complete rules are available at the Iola Public Library. The winner will receive $100 and have their design used for the festival.
All entries must be received by the library by Feb. 12.
The Sept. 18 festival is a “project that is part of the grant the city of Iola received for library programs and services about a year ago,” said library Director Roger Carswell.
City commissioners originally sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., seeking construction money for the library, Carswell said.
“They said ‘We can’t do that, but we can give you money for programs and services,’” he noted.
The library received $47,161 to use over the course of two years. The Family Reading Festival will mark the final event funded by the grant.
The one day festival will feature numerous authors, most with some tie to Kansas, Carswell said.
Present will be Judith Miller, a Christian fiction author, Max McCoy, who writes westerns, thrillers and “was tapped by Lucasfilm to write some Indiana Jones books,” and David A. Nichols, who, Carswell said, “probably wrote the definitive work on Dwight D. Eisenhower.”
Lisa Harkrader will also be there. She was “one of two William Allen White award winners last year, and is the author of the fall 2010 Iola Reads selection, ‘Air Ball: My Life in Briefs,’” Carswell said. All the authors will give readings and sign books, Carswell said.
Additional authors are expected as well, Carswell said, including more young adult and children’s authors.
The Family Reading Festival will take place at Allen County Community College.
Before it does, though, the library needs a logo for the event.
“We decided we wanted a logo to go with it and we had a successful contest with the Iola Reads logo” in 2005, Carswell said, “So we thought we’d have another contest” for the Family Reads Festival.
Entry forms are available at all USD 257 schools, ACCC, Iola Area Chamber of Commerce and the library itself. There is no age limit. Entries must be the creator’s original design and contain the words “Iola” and “Family Reading Festival.”
Complete rules are available at the Iola Public Library. The winner will receive $100 and have their design used for the festival.
All entries must be received by the library by Feb. 12.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Back to basics for First Baptist
By ANNE KAZMIERCZAK
Register Reporter
Bucking what might be a national trend towards flashier or multi-media services, Iola’s First Baptist Church is staying traditional — and seeing growth because of it.
“When I came we were averaging 90 in worship” on Sundays, said Pastor Mike Quinn, who has been at the church about a year and a half. “In the past six months, we’ve averaged 120. I think we’re growing because we’re reaching out,” Quinn said.
The church has a focus group, “God Rewards Our Work,” that devotes Tuesday evenings to home visits, letter writing and phone calls to former members, visitors or those recommended by congregants.
The church also implemented a Southern Baptist Convention program, “God’s Plan of Sharing” during the Easter season, wherein each church goer was to spread the word of God through their daily lives.
In addition, Quinn said, “the first two Saturdays of March we walked through the community and we prayed at each house as we went by.”
Quinn said his group didn’t know the householders, but merely offered prayer for whatever needs those inside each dwelling might have. Then, “the next two Saturdays, we hung door hangers with a gospel presentation” — a Scripture verse, Quinn explained — and an invitation to church. About 1,000 hangers were left on doors around Iola, he said.
On Easter Sunday, almost 230 people attended services, Quinn said.
“We’ve made some contact,” he observed.
“Another thing we’ve tried to do is reach into the college,” Quinn noted. “We’re working with Campus Crusade for Christ ministry,” he said. Also, the church “started a new Sunday school class for college-age kids,” Quinn said. That meets at 9:30 a.m. at the church at 801 N. Cottonwood, along with its other classes broken into age groups including preschool, adult and senior citizen.
First Baptist does some promotion of the class on campus, Quinn said, and other outreach there such as a dinner on April 27.
“There wasn’t any pressure,” Quinn said of the meal. “They just came, had supper and had a good time.”
To capitalize on the interest, the church recently hired a youth pastor to work 20 hours a week.
“It’s really the 40 to 50 years olds that we’re shortest on,” Quinn’s wife, Becky, said.
Becky Quinn works as the church secretary and keeps track of attendance.
“We’re reaching all age groups,” though, she noted, with the greatest attendance in the 55-and-up range. Children and 18- to 34-year-olds also boast high attendance numbers. Youth in grades seven to 12 attend only slightly less.
That troubling middle-aged group is six to seven times smaller than the others, though, she said.
Neither of the Quinns could explain why, unless it had to do with commitment to family, they said.
“I don’t think churches should expect young families to be very involved in running the church” Becky Quinn said. At that age, she said, “Your children are your biggest ministry.”
MIKE QUINN entered the ministry in 1986. His family was never very religious, he said.
When “in 1983 I left to go to the seminary, I didn’t know the Bible or anything like that,” Quinn said.
It was a series of deaths that led Quinn away from — and back to — God.
Before his conversion, Quinn’s only experience with church came through a friend.
“His mom would take us to Vacation Bible School,” Quinn said. “But he was killed at 15 and I turned hard toward the things of God.”
Quinn’s father was not a man of God. Instead of church, the family would go fishing on Sundays.
He was hard-working, hard-drinking, Quinn said. “He was a big guy, rough and tough. I idolized my dad. Growing up, I wanted to be just like him.”
And so, more or less, Quinn was.
Quinn worked construction at the Callaway County Nuclear Power Plant in Missouri.
“We drank every day after work,” Quinn noted. Then, in the course of 1 1/2 years when Quinn was in his mid-20s, he lost four of his best friends.
“Two were shot and killed in a bar in Jefferson City, Mo., one drowned in a pond and one burned to death in a house fire,” Quinn said.
The loss was shaking.
“I looked around there wasn’t anybody left but me in that group.”
About that time, he said, “there was a pastor who moved into our community. He started visiting with me and I didn’t want anything to do with him.”
Quinn would hide in the closet, he said, and wait until his wife told him the man had gone.
“Just about every time something happened, he’d show up — and he didn’t know about it,” Quinn noted.
The coincidence got to be too much for Quinn.
“It caused me to think about death and if there is life after death, where would I end up? I knew I wasn’t right with God.”
Quinn spoke to the man.
“He shared how God forgives your sins and it didn’t matter what you’d done.”
Quinn believed.
“I didn’t see lightning or hear voices,” he said. But he was changed.
“The next night was Friday night and after work we stopped to get our liquor and I got a Pepsi,” Quinn noted.
His fellow workers made fun of him.
“They asked me what happened and I told them a preacher stopped by and I accepted Christ and that I didn’t think God wanted me to drink anymore — They said it would never stick.”
That was 1980. Quinn hasn’t had any alcohol since.
Shortly thereafter, Quinn said, his father threw him a birthday bash. He pressured Quinn to drink. Quinn went inside and told his wife to pray.
About six months later, his father, too, accepted Christ.
His son’s refusal to drink affected him, Quinn said. “He told me, ‘Whatever you’d gotten, I needed it.’”
QUINN’S CHURCH offers a Wednesday evening program, TeamKid, that pulls in children like he was, he said.
“We’ve got kids who come whose families are not members here.” Many don’t attend church at all, he said.
The program attracts students from kindergarten through grade 12, he said.
“I think for the most part (they attend) because it’s Christ-based,” he said of the program.
“Iola is more conservative” than Quinn’s home town between Jefferson City and Columbia, Mo., “but as a rule there’s a vast loss and spiritual darkness — not only here, but everywhere,” Quinn said. “I see that as a major concern as a pastor.”
Although church attendance surged post 9/11, Quinn doesn’t “think it lasted very long. Things just went back to where they were.”
Quinn believes the role of the pastor is “to get Christ to people. It’s the gospel that changes lives and transforms lives.”
To that end, he is exploring additional outreach opportunities.
“We’ve thought about doing a discipleship class on financial planning or parenting or marriage strengthening,” Becky said. Plans for a six-to-eight week Sunday evening program are tentative right now, she said, but in the works.
“I think typically across the board people are doing away with Sunday night services because people just don’t come back for them,” Mike said. A Sunday evening class would draw a different crowd, the Quinns believe.
“It’s just finding someone to lead who is capable of doing that,” she said.
As for the Wednesday night kids program, “We keep the youth group up all summer,” Mike said. And, “We have a gym; that’s a nice draw for the kids.”
Other venues of participation open at First Baptist are music worship teams, fellowship teams which plan monthly suppers, ministry teams that visit the sick, homebound and those in nursing homes, and an evangelism/mission team that deals with mission projects and spending of church funds, Quinn said. “The goal is to get everybody involved in some sort of ministry,” Quinn said.
As a pastor, Quinn listens to congregants, he said.
“They have ideas and I have ideas and we bounce them off each other. I believe if we do a few things and do them well, they please the Lord.”
Each day, Quinn spends about an hour studying the Bible, then does additional research for a total of 15 to 20 hours per week prep time for his Sunday sermon, he said.
“I look online to get illustrations” and use “books that inspire me or preach through a book of the bible,” Quinn said.
“The Bible talks about getting the whole council of God. That makes me deal with passages that are harder. I try to take it in its historical and grammatical context and how we can apply that to day — what’s it really saying — then and to us? And now that we’ve heard it, what are we going to do with it” Quinn asked.
Quinn said his greatest role is to facillitate the healing of families.
“It’s not what I do; it’s what He does,” Quinn said.
Register Reporter
Bucking what might be a national trend towards flashier or multi-media services, Iola’s First Baptist Church is staying traditional — and seeing growth because of it.
“When I came we were averaging 90 in worship” on Sundays, said Pastor Mike Quinn, who has been at the church about a year and a half. “In the past six months, we’ve averaged 120. I think we’re growing because we’re reaching out,” Quinn said.
The church has a focus group, “God Rewards Our Work,” that devotes Tuesday evenings to home visits, letter writing and phone calls to former members, visitors or those recommended by congregants.
The church also implemented a Southern Baptist Convention program, “God’s Plan of Sharing” during the Easter season, wherein each church goer was to spread the word of God through their daily lives.
In addition, Quinn said, “the first two Saturdays of March we walked through the community and we prayed at each house as we went by.”
Quinn said his group didn’t know the householders, but merely offered prayer for whatever needs those inside each dwelling might have. Then, “the next two Saturdays, we hung door hangers with a gospel presentation” — a Scripture verse, Quinn explained — and an invitation to church. About 1,000 hangers were left on doors around Iola, he said.
On Easter Sunday, almost 230 people attended services, Quinn said.
“We’ve made some contact,” he observed.
“Another thing we’ve tried to do is reach into the college,” Quinn noted. “We’re working with Campus Crusade for Christ ministry,” he said. Also, the church “started a new Sunday school class for college-age kids,” Quinn said. That meets at 9:30 a.m. at the church at 801 N. Cottonwood, along with its other classes broken into age groups including preschool, adult and senior citizen.
First Baptist does some promotion of the class on campus, Quinn said, and other outreach there such as a dinner on April 27.
“There wasn’t any pressure,” Quinn said of the meal. “They just came, had supper and had a good time.”
To capitalize on the interest, the church recently hired a youth pastor to work 20 hours a week.
“It’s really the 40 to 50 years olds that we’re shortest on,” Quinn’s wife, Becky, said.
Becky Quinn works as the church secretary and keeps track of attendance.
“We’re reaching all age groups,” though, she noted, with the greatest attendance in the 55-and-up range. Children and 18- to 34-year-olds also boast high attendance numbers. Youth in grades seven to 12 attend only slightly less.
That troubling middle-aged group is six to seven times smaller than the others, though, she said.
Neither of the Quinns could explain why, unless it had to do with commitment to family, they said.
“I don’t think churches should expect young families to be very involved in running the church” Becky Quinn said. At that age, she said, “Your children are your biggest ministry.”
MIKE QUINN entered the ministry in 1986. His family was never very religious, he said.
When “in 1983 I left to go to the seminary, I didn’t know the Bible or anything like that,” Quinn said.
It was a series of deaths that led Quinn away from — and back to — God.
Before his conversion, Quinn’s only experience with church came through a friend.
“His mom would take us to Vacation Bible School,” Quinn said. “But he was killed at 15 and I turned hard toward the things of God.”
Quinn’s father was not a man of God. Instead of church, the family would go fishing on Sundays.
He was hard-working, hard-drinking, Quinn said. “He was a big guy, rough and tough. I idolized my dad. Growing up, I wanted to be just like him.”
And so, more or less, Quinn was.
Quinn worked construction at the Callaway County Nuclear Power Plant in Missouri.
“We drank every day after work,” Quinn noted. Then, in the course of 1 1/2 years when Quinn was in his mid-20s, he lost four of his best friends.
“Two were shot and killed in a bar in Jefferson City, Mo., one drowned in a pond and one burned to death in a house fire,” Quinn said.
The loss was shaking.
“I looked around there wasn’t anybody left but me in that group.”
About that time, he said, “there was a pastor who moved into our community. He started visiting with me and I didn’t want anything to do with him.”
Quinn would hide in the closet, he said, and wait until his wife told him the man had gone.
“Just about every time something happened, he’d show up — and he didn’t know about it,” Quinn noted.
The coincidence got to be too much for Quinn.
“It caused me to think about death and if there is life after death, where would I end up? I knew I wasn’t right with God.”
Quinn spoke to the man.
“He shared how God forgives your sins and it didn’t matter what you’d done.”
Quinn believed.
“I didn’t see lightning or hear voices,” he said. But he was changed.
“The next night was Friday night and after work we stopped to get our liquor and I got a Pepsi,” Quinn noted.
His fellow workers made fun of him.
“They asked me what happened and I told them a preacher stopped by and I accepted Christ and that I didn’t think God wanted me to drink anymore — They said it would never stick.”
That was 1980. Quinn hasn’t had any alcohol since.
Shortly thereafter, Quinn said, his father threw him a birthday bash. He pressured Quinn to drink. Quinn went inside and told his wife to pray.
About six months later, his father, too, accepted Christ.
His son’s refusal to drink affected him, Quinn said. “He told me, ‘Whatever you’d gotten, I needed it.’”
QUINN’S CHURCH offers a Wednesday evening program, TeamKid, that pulls in children like he was, he said.
“We’ve got kids who come whose families are not members here.” Many don’t attend church at all, he said.
The program attracts students from kindergarten through grade 12, he said.
“I think for the most part (they attend) because it’s Christ-based,” he said of the program.
“Iola is more conservative” than Quinn’s home town between Jefferson City and Columbia, Mo., “but as a rule there’s a vast loss and spiritual darkness — not only here, but everywhere,” Quinn said. “I see that as a major concern as a pastor.”
Although church attendance surged post 9/11, Quinn doesn’t “think it lasted very long. Things just went back to where they were.”
Quinn believes the role of the pastor is “to get Christ to people. It’s the gospel that changes lives and transforms lives.”
To that end, he is exploring additional outreach opportunities.
“We’ve thought about doing a discipleship class on financial planning or parenting or marriage strengthening,” Becky said. Plans for a six-to-eight week Sunday evening program are tentative right now, she said, but in the works.
“I think typically across the board people are doing away with Sunday night services because people just don’t come back for them,” Mike said. A Sunday evening class would draw a different crowd, the Quinns believe.
“It’s just finding someone to lead who is capable of doing that,” she said.
As for the Wednesday night kids program, “We keep the youth group up all summer,” Mike said. And, “We have a gym; that’s a nice draw for the kids.”
Other venues of participation open at First Baptist are music worship teams, fellowship teams which plan monthly suppers, ministry teams that visit the sick, homebound and those in nursing homes, and an evangelism/mission team that deals with mission projects and spending of church funds, Quinn said. “The goal is to get everybody involved in some sort of ministry,” Quinn said.
As a pastor, Quinn listens to congregants, he said.
“They have ideas and I have ideas and we bounce them off each other. I believe if we do a few things and do them well, they please the Lord.”
Each day, Quinn spends about an hour studying the Bible, then does additional research for a total of 15 to 20 hours per week prep time for his Sunday sermon, he said.
“I look online to get illustrations” and use “books that inspire me or preach through a book of the bible,” Quinn said.
“The Bible talks about getting the whole council of God. That makes me deal with passages that are harder. I try to take it in its historical and grammatical context and how we can apply that to day — what’s it really saying — then and to us? And now that we’ve heard it, what are we going to do with it” Quinn asked.
Quinn said his greatest role is to facillitate the healing of families.
“It’s not what I do; it’s what He does,” Quinn said.
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