Strengthening Our Tie

“The poor bus was just sitting there doing nothing,” said Melinda Ransdell. Melinda is a member of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Southern Pines, NC and serves on the council. “We loved our bus. It was special to us, but we weren’t using it anymore.” (Watch the video below)

The congregation council of Our Saviour gave thanks for all the trips and memories shared in their 30 passenger Chevrolet bus over the years. After realizing they were no longer using the bus themselves, they made the faithful decision that God was calling them to continue to see it’s potential as abundance. They celebrated the decision to gift the bus to Lutheridge on Sunday, December 15^th with a blessing and sending service. Then on Friday, November 20^th, Melinda, her husband Johnny, and their son Joey delivered the bus to Lutheridge. It was wonderful to see all of our future campers and counselors come out to welcome the bus with signs and balloons.

“All three of our sons were campers at Lutheridge and two of them served on summer staff,” Melinda shared. “Lutheridge is a special place for us. We know that Lutheridge uses buses to take children on outings and back and forth to Lutherock. It strengthens our ties to this place to be able to share this gift with the camp.”

“We are so grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of our camp friends at Our Saviour Lutheran Church,” said Deacon Mitzie Schafer, Vice President for Development at NovusWay. “This bus will open doors for our program staff to plan and dream. We can’t wait to hear campers singing songs from their seats this summer.”

If your congregation finds you have a similar story, and you would like to talk about gifting a bus or other vehicle you are no longer using to the camp please contact our Development Office at give@novusway.org.