Ready for Rainbow

With summer getting closer, the Rainbow Beach team are once again preparing for mission. We catch up with Angela Harth to hear a little about they have planned for this year...

Tell us a little about the mission at Rainbow Beach:

Rainbow Beach Community Outreach will be celebrating its 35^thyear of running a holiday program for children and young people of Rainbow Beach this year. It first started in 1975.

Why does a team go to Rainbow Beach?

To build sustainable relationships with the community of Rainbow Beach, through service, example and sharing of our faith in Christ, with the aim of having the children and young people come to know Christ personally in their lives.

What do you do there?

In previous years, the program structure has been based around tents in the local Reserve, running programs and waiting for the children and young people to visit us and attend our programs. The programs are broken into three different categories.

Kids' team (4 years old up to grade 4)
Intermission team (grade 5 to grade 9)
Youth team covering everybody else, whether that is highschoolers or backpackers.

So this year is going to be different from previous years. How?

This year Rainbow Beach Community Outreach is shifting focus to be more 'in the community' rather than waiting for the community to come to us. Our older youth programs have not been as effective, so in reaction to this, we are having a combined Intermission/Youth Outreach Team. We aim to be involved more with this age group by running combined programs and events out in the community e.g. pamper tent by the beach, chill out areas, skate sessions etc. We will still be running the kids team program at the tents, as this is always effective with 20 - 40 kids attending each day.

How big is the team?

Currently we have 23 team members (including Michael Pfeffer and myself as Directors), as well as the support team of cooks (Lou and Gordon Bailey) and Stewart Beveridge for Spiritual leadership. We have need for "Camp Parents" to assist in delivering spiritual input sessions (working with Stewart), washing team shirts and providing general support.

So Ange this will be your fifth year on Rainbow mission? Do you have a favourite memory or story?

Over the last few years we have had our fair share of weather dramas at Rainbow Beach, from constant rain, to cyclonic conditions and blistering winds. Every year, we hold a very popular basketball competition as a big night event. One year, the whole team was praying like mad a few hours before the event, with the directors starting to stress about an alternate program... and all of a sudden the rain cleared, there was a break in the clouds and God provided (as promised!) a rainbow at Rainbow!

Wow. A rainbow at Rainbow!

Yep! The night was clear for just enough time to setup, run the competition and packdown safely, then the heavens opened and it poured rain immediately after. God provided us a window of opportunity to run a program, witness and change lives, and in 35 years it has never rained for the basketball competition!

How can ashgrove help?

BBQ Sausage Sizzle: This Sunday the Rainbow Beach Team will be hosting a sausage sizzle to raise money after both our worship gatherings. Buy a snag and help the team prepare financially for their mission.

Movie Fundraiser: Watch the next installment in the Narnia Chronicles with us on December 14 at the Blue Room Cinebar. Check out all the details on facebook and in life@ashgrove over the coming weeks.

Through prayer:

♦Pray for the community/people of Rainbow Beach - that their hearts would be open and prepared for change from Christ

♦Pray for leaders for team sections, and specifically for people to step up to Directing for 2011-12 and beyond

♦Pray for God to work through individual team members, that their lives would be changed and challenged, as they boldly share their faith with the community