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| Bakken Drilling (Joshua Doubek) |
It seems as though the North Dakota oil country has become the new Wild West.
People seeking a better life are migrating there - many finding only fractured fields and broken dreams.
This disillusionment has led to a local revival of itinerant preaching. Maryann
Eidemiller of The Washington Post reports that Sven Hauge and some fellow members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association have been holding worship services for the “man camps” there. So far “he’s seen half a dozen men commit to following Jesus,” which Hague describes as “awesome” rather than “big.”
Hague and his team are not the only evangelists in that area. Robert
Newberry, “a self-described former bad dude” turned preacher, came up from Missouri to “let people know that God is here and he loves them.” Newberry feels that his “rough-and-tumble” background has helped him to understand the challenges that these oil workers are dealing with.
Then there's Jim Konsor from South Dakota who sought monetary assistance for the workers from the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He asked for $100,000 and received $270,000.
The local churches have also stepped up their services. They are struggling to accommodate the men’s work schedules, as well as their pressing needs for such basics as “money for gas.”
Resources
http://wwrn.org/articles/43460/?place=united-states
Copyright October 13, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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