When Opportunity Calls . . . Pack Fast!

One of the perks of Allen and Trish’s current stage of life is the ability to travel without months of planning. They’ve officially reached the “throw some things in a bag and go” era — a magical time when spontaneity no longer requires a committee meeting. Recently, that flexibility served both them and the ministry in a big way. When longtime supporter Pastor Chris Ozment from Alabama called and asked if they could attend a county-wide conference of Baptist churches in just two weeks, Allen and Trish grabbed their bags.

But first, of course, came the behind-the-scenes scramble.

The purpose of the trip was to help Sowers4Pastors connect with churches in Pastor Chris' area. He and his wife have been packing backpacks for Sowers4Pastors for years, involving their local churches in that project. Last spring, Allen and Trish visited Alabama to meet with some of the pastors and gauge how much interest there might be in having them come to share the larger ministry with the local congregations — a visit that aligned perfectly with the launch of S4P’s new public sponsorship program. This program differs from the sister-church model in a big way: it’s open to individual sponsors anywhere - not just people in one specific US church.

Originally, the plan was to return to Alabama in the fall, but Pastor Chris experienced a health crisis, so it looked like the trip would be postponed indefinitely. Even so, S4P kept moving forward. The location for the new program was identified. Local connections were made with a pastor and school. Everything was lining up beautifully…

…and then the “throw some things in a bag” phone call came.

Naturally, there was one more plot twist — courtesy of a Honduran holiday shuffle.

In recent years, the Honduran government has rearranged certain holidays to create a full week off in the fall. Think of it as celebrating the 4th of July, Veterans Day, and Labor Day all in one festive stretch. So when Pastor Chris called, many S4P staff were scattered across the country enjoying family time. But…

Allen and Trish knew this was their window to begin arranging sponsors for the soon-to-launch public program. As soon as everyone returned, they quickly gathered the team and registered all the children in the new program. Because it was the end of the Honduran school year, the kids didn’t receive backpacks at that time — but they will in January.

Denise Cofer worked quickly to create profiles for each child, while Trish prepared the website so those shiny new profiles would have an online home. And then Allen and Trish officially threw some things in a bag and took off.

First stop: Florida, where they printed each child’s profile, and briefly visited with family.

Next stop: Alabama, where they spoke at the conference and then spent five full weeks visiting congregations — Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday nights included.

Thirty children now have sponsors, a strong beginning for the new public sponsorship program. Along the way, Allen and Trish met wonderful people, sampled Alabama church potlucks (they gave them five enthusiastic stars), and were glad for the opportunity to serve the ministry in a way only they can do right now.

The new sponsorship program will officially open to everyone in early 2026. Kirstin is creating the official policy page for the website, and Trish is wrangling with the tech work. As always, S4P will stretch every sponsorship dollar as far as it can possibly reach — supporting not only an individual child, but also that child's pastor, their community, other children still waiting for a sponsor, and even pastors who are being empowered to potentially run sponsorship programs in their communities in the future!

Thank you to Pastor Chris for the invitation — and to the churches in his county for giving the new public sponsorship program a heartwarming kickoff. - posted by Christi