Amazing Grace Church receives help from RV MAPS

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpsta@charlescitypress.com

Jerry Anderson helps out when and where he can.

He’s on a mission and yes, it’s in the literal sense.  

It doesn’t hurt that the retired teacher sports a 37-foot, 5th-wheel RV trailer to get to his destinations.

He stopped this week in Charles City at the Amazing Grace Church to lend a hand.

Anderson is a member of U.S. MAPS (Mission America Placement Service). RV MAPS is a branch of mission work that provides, among other things, a network of RV volunteers who can assist with construction and evangelism needs to further enhance the ministries of Assemblies of God churches and institutions, according to its website.

Anderson taught for 13 years in California — specifically the Los Angeles Unified School District. Then he moved on to Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas, to teach another 24 years.

He retired in 2005 and started mission work with his wife a little while later. He helped build a school north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. He’s assisted in projects through RV MAPS in states out West like Washington, Nebraska and Montana.

Anderson is a member of Sunstream Christian Retreat Center in Ogden, an Assembly of God church camp. Sunstream is affiliated through the Assembly of God church network, which upon request from certain churches across the nation will provide labor in helping build churches or other work such as at campgrounds or colleges.

Churches fill out applications for projects that they would like help with. Anderson said most churches provide all the materials and the RVers help with the labor it takes to make a project complete.

“I’m giving back what I can give back,” said Anderson, who was one of about four or five members of RV MAPS in Charles City this week who mostly hailed from here in Iowa —places such as Sioux City, Des Moines and the Quad Cities.

What the Amazing Grace Church got back was help with a roof. Anderson and a team of about 15 workers helped lay down a tin roof, which they started earlier this week.

“It’s incredible. All these guys are skilled. Each one has a license in a different area, whether it’s electrical, plumbing, HVAC,” said Jamie O’Dowd, the lead elder at Amazing Grace.

Amazing Grace’s congregation, which stands at around 30 members, according to O’Dowd, moved out of its old church (New Life Church) on June 1. The New Life Church building, which sits right next to Amazing Grace, was sold to Mills Incorporated.

Amazing Grace is now getting a face lift, courtesy of members like elder Josh Johnson, church treasurer Roger Sherburne, and Greg and Josh Weigand.

Whether it be through the assistance and help from RV Maps or members of his parish, O’Dowd felt blessed to receive such work to help restart the church. O’Dowd said the building had been vacant for about 15 years prior to these past two months. 

“We’re excited what God’s going to do in this church,” said O’Dowd, who mentioned Sunday service at Amazing Grace starts at 10 a.m.  

O’Dowd said the reroofing of Amazing Grace should probably be finished on Friday. Members of the congregation have already painted the inside of the building and done a bunch of cleanup work.

“Hopefully we’ll get some siding on yet this year,” said O’Dowd.

Dennis Tynan, owner of Denny’s Recycling in Charles City, also helped out by bringing over some of his equipment and manpower to do some of the soffit work on the exterior of the church.

Tynan isn’t a member of Amazing Grace but he attends services there. He also went to Sunday service at New Life. 

“I think that’s why the Lord put me here. I’ve went around to all the churches playing my cello and these guys smiled the most even though I hadn’t played it for 30-some years,” Tynan said, smiling.