St. Paul's mayor calls for partnership with faith communities

St. Paul's mayor asked for prayer for the city's east side and Payne Avenue EFC, BUMP's partner for more that 20 years, was featured in a WCCO news report. Watch the video.

Pastor Larry Willman and Othalee McDonald are both featured in the story. Last year, we sat down with the two of them to hear the story of how Payne Avenue EFC and BUMP helped Othalee find his way to to God and the church in a new way...

When Othalee McDonald moved from his Mississippi childhood home in 1977, he never imagined a journey that would lead him to BUMP at Payne Avenue EFC in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Payne Avenue EFC’s vision of “Loved. Set Free. Changed.” perfectly describes McDonald’s path after growing up in the days of Martin Luther King Jr., “making a lot of people unhappy,” as McDonald put it. He and his brothers worked all day, frequently absorbing racial epithets, and so hatred became a natural outflow of the times. 

The pay his mother received for their labor would be whatever the employers felt like; anything but fair wages. He never wanted to work picking cotton, or whatever crop was in season, knowing how he would be treated. “I can’t talk about it. It makes me sad,” McDonald said at the emotional memories.

Moving to Minnesota

Moving north brought freedom from the segregation of Mississippi and McDonald vowed never to return. In 2006, he and his family purchased a home on St. Paul’s Eastside, just blocks from Payne Free Church. ABUMP site since 1997, students went door-to-door inviting everyone in the St. Paul neighborhood to the weeklong Vacation Bible School (VBS). They visited with McDonald and left him a flyer. He and his wife were looking for something for the kids to do and decided to bring their children.

While dropping the kids off, McDonald met Larry Willman, pastor of Payne Free Church, and a few other church members. Months later, the McDonalds were looking for a church home in their new neighborhood, and remembering the BUMP connection, they decided to give the church a try. McDonald never left.

McDonald’s involvement isn’t limited to Sunday attendance. For the last several years, he and Willman have been meeting weekly to study the Bible. McDonald said Willman was an answer to his prayer for help understanding the Bible and growing in knowledge rather than just reading it. McDonald was also baptized at Payne Free.

“I have blossomed with my knowledge and understanding,” he said. “It makes me smile and gives me goose bumps – from connecting with God’s Word.”

His joy is evident.

Finding Family

In addition to growing in his spiritual walk, McDonald has a multiethnic church family he can’t wait to see every Sunday.

“My brothers and sisters at church are amazing! I can’t wait from one Sunday to the next to see them!” He said. “They are always welcoming – no one is left alone. The warmth is part of the church DNA.”

If you stop by Payne Free, there’s a good chance McDonald will be the first to greet you, making sure you know how wonderful the church is.

“They opened my eyes on another level about the love people can have to people of another race,” he said.

Loving others also works in McDonald’s life outside of church as he is developing relationships of love and trust with his neighbors on an ethnically diverse street. It is not simply through words, but through actions. One way he shares the love he has for God and Payne Free, is by leading an adult class during BUMP week, giving parents a reason to stay while their children attend VBS.

“BUMP has been wonderful for me to see the kids come back every year.” McDonald said. “By mid-week, the parents begin to stay. We’re trying to get them to see the spiritual side of what we’re doing there. I invite them to start reading God’s Word. Some come back – not as regular as we would like – but they do.”

He is also part of a weekly small group where relationships are deepened to a more personal level and they care for one another.

Spreading Joy

His grandson, Tyshawn, now age 12, came to live with them when he was in kindergarten and regularly attends church with McDonald. In and out of foster homes at a young age, Tyshawn has found stability in the McDonald’s home and Payne Free Church. Willman explains that Tyshawn is his “right-hand man” when it comes to setting up for Sunday school and will be included in their next outdoor baptism service. During the 2014 BUMP, he was one of the church’s youth helpers.

Willman is encouraged by walking with McDonald on his journey. Suffering through nine back surgeries and other health issues, McDonald’s life is filled with daily, physical pain.

“Pain is second when I go to church, from the happiness of seeing my brothers and sisters,” he said.

“He’s the real deal,” Willman added. “He’s been through a lot but God has made up for the past with real joy.”

The partnership of BUMP and Payne Free Church provides opportunities for the church’s vision statement to take root. A week-long mission trip truly can plant the seed that helps neighbors know they are loved, find the key to being set free and lead to lasting change.

BUMP Back Home: Personal Growth and Strengthened Gifts

Emily Green  writes about her BUMP Twin Cities experience, looking back one year later. God grew her faith, strengthened her gifts and took her out of her comfort zone, all things He planned for her to use as she served Him back home.

Before coming to Hope Evangelical Free Church, (Roscoe, IL) I attended a Catholic Church. As I grew older, I came to the realization that church felt like it was a chore to me. After I finished 8th grade, my mom allowed me to look for a new church that made me feel more comfortable. A year later, I found Hope EFC and began my journey to know Christ there. From the fall of my sophomore year to the week before my first BUMP trip, my faith grew in a consistent, yet slow growth.

Payne Avenue teams 2014

In youth group I had heard about what BUMP was and became instantly hooked on the idea. I signed up not knowing completely what I was getting myself into. When I first arrived at BUMP, I was definitely overwhelmed with how many people were there. During the first day of being there, I had a bit of regret of signing up. As the week unfolded, I started to open my mind to the opportunities and ended up learning so many things. From everything I took away from that week, my faith blossomed and ultimately changed my life. There were two major things that stood out to me this past year.

Patience. Before the trip, I had just enough patience to get me through what had to be done. During BUMP, I was assigned to be a shepherd with one of the teens who attended Payne Avenue EFC, St. Paul. During the week, we had three girls who were able to push my buttons as well as acting up.

One night while I was praying for patience, God reminded me of Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” NASB I cemented that verse in my head and whenever I didn’t want to achieve something, I remembered the verse. One could say that this was a step in the right direction in my faith, but by the grace of God I decided to take it a step farther. I brought up the verse to the three girls and the next day they came in with a better attitude. From that experience, I definitely believe my patience has grown tremendously.

I also became aware of how well I do with kids after BUMP. There were a few “right away changes” but this one became more dominant compared to those. I got involved with babysitting the church choir kids as well as becoming a leader for AWANA.

The patience really showed through during AWANA last winter. One night I was assigned to work with a special-needs girl who had Down syndrome. That night the leader had posted on my Facebook wall, “Your willingness to help with (in order to keep the identity private I will not include her name) on Monday was beyond awesome!! You're just a natural & a breath of fresh air Emily!” The words “you're just a natural” really struck me as a surprise, because I knew my patience has grown but I didn’t realize it was that drastic. I only have BUMP to really thank for that.

Emily's 2015 visit to Payne Ave EFC during BUMP week

Comfort zones. Another thing I really got from BUMP was breaking my comfort zone from prayer walking. Going into BUMP, one thing I absolutely did not want to do was prayer walking. The first day of prayer walking, I was paired up with two people from a church in Deerfield, IL, and one person who went to my church. The four of us, as well as the leader from Deerfield, started up through the neighborhood. I had such a closed mind to the idea, so the first two or three days I honestly let my partner do all the talking. This was his third or fourth BUMP, so in my head I just thought he was going to accomplish it very well and he would be able to bring more people to our VBS. Ultimately, he was able to canvas well; not because he was a natural as I initially thought but because he was experienced.

As the week went on I realized that these people we were talking to were actually interested in what we had to say. I gradually started talking more and more as the week went on. At the time I thought it was a good learning opportunity because I was able to get out of my comfort zone. In all honesty, I didn't notice the huge change it had on me until this year.

This year my church decided to stay in the area and not go to BUMP. We decided to go to Rockford and help out there instead. The first day we went prayer walking and canvassing the neighborhood so we can get more people to come to the Rockford Rescue Mission and participate in our VBS. The first day we had three kids and we really wanted to increase the numbers we had on participants so we went out canvassing. The girl who I was paired up with was on her first mission trip. I was surprised at how easily I was able just to walk up to the door connect to the people, really get them talking, and getting them interested in coming to our VBS.

That night my heart just really opened up to the idea of staying in the area as well as realizing how much BUMP really is taking a toll on my life and my faith. I was no longer that scared student who was terrified of telling her faith to people and soon became the student getting people into talking. I am more confident in what I am doing in knowing where I am and where I will go in my walk with Christ.

I was crushed knowing I wasn’t going on BUMP this summer. Another student who had attended last year and I made it back up to Minnesota to visit her grandparents, as well as help out a bit at Payne Avenue EFC’s BUMP VBS.  Everything I have become this past year, I have BUMP to thank. Although I grew independently, BUMP ultimately changed my life forever - not only in my personality, but also in my walk with Christ.