OUR MISSION:

We serve and encourage Christian Ministries to fulfill the commandments of Jesus Christ

SOWER Ministry Newsletter July 2026

From Where I Sit

by Office Managers Gail Fieler & Katie Gay

Dear SOWER family,

Greetings in Christ!

Statistics continue to reveal that SOWERs are our best advertising agents! That being said, be sure to carry brochures in your vehicles and keep them handy wherever you go. We’ll send them to you anytime, just shoot us an email!

Our SOAs (SOWERs on Assignment) program is a great way to save on fuel costs, and projects love having SOWERs for an extended period of time for continuity and less training, especially during their peak summer weeks. Guidelines for this program are online under Forms & Docs/SOWERs on Assignment. If you have questions, reach out to us here at the office.

Remember that Group Leader reports are a great way to familiarize yourself with a project before you go or if you are thinking about signing up for one. Go to any Ministry Home Page you will see the Blue Button titled GL Reports. And you can always reach out to anyone who has worked there before for more information.

And of course, we always like to share encouraging remarks from Project Hosts:

1) “SOWERs were an amazing addition to our Christian community. Their baking, kitchen help, and cabin painting blessed everyone. Their faith and servant hearts made a lasting impact. We pray they may come back again in the future!”

2)“Their work ethic and skill level and initiative were OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING!”

Katie & Gail

Got Questions? The office is happy to help!

903-882-8070(land line--no texts)

sowers@sowerministry.org

Introducing your

New SOWER Board Members

Rob Schildroth (3781)

Rick Pack (3791)

Ray Arthur (2810)

Our ministry is blessed to welcome such a great group of leaders whose diverse expertise, shared vision, and dedication will undoubtedly strengthen our mission and guide our ministry’s future. Their unique viewpoints will be invaluable as the Board navigates new opportunities and tasks ahead and looks forward to the fresh energy and insight they bring to the SOWER Board. We want to thank all of the candidates for their willingness to commit their time and talents to our ministry.

Trustee Corner

There is a profound and unique joy in realizing that our steps are ordered by the Lord for such a time as this: living, worshipping,  and serving in the United States as it marks its monumental 250th anniversary. As believers, we recognize that every freedom we enjoy—chief among them the liberty to worship and serve God openly—is a profound blessing. Stepping into this historic semiquincentennial year fills the heart with a deep sense of gratitude, not just for the heritage of the nation, but for the enduring faithfulness of the Creator who has sustained it. It is a rare privilege to witness such a milestone, and an even greater joy to use our lives, talents, and voices to honor the One who truly establishes all things.

Serving the Lord during this landmark celebration brings a renewed energy to our daily walk. This year isn't just about looking back at two and a half centuries of history; it’s an incredible, open door to look forward and share a message of hope, faith, and redemption with a world that needs it through the service we provide. Whether through music, fellowship, helping a neighbor, simply living as a beacon of light, or serving a camp somewhere in the USA, every act of service becomes a way to give thanks for the immense liberties we have been granted. There is a special kind of fire that lights up when we realize that our personal dedication to God plays a part in shaping the spiritual landscape for the generations yet to come.

Ultimately, the greatest joy of this season is the reminder that while we proudly celebrate the earthly milestone of a great nation, our ultimate citizenship and highest calling belong to the Kingdom of God. Serving Him during this 250th year allows us to anchor our patriotism in something eternal. It brings a deep, unspeakable peace and happiness to know that by lifting up the name of the Lord today, in service and honor to our Master, we are honoring the very foundation of truth and liberty. It is a beautiful time to be alive, a beautiful country to call home, and an absolute privilege to “give our best” to the Lord in this historic time.

Camping4TheKingdom,

Dick Webster, #3808

President, SOWER Ministry

Annual Registration and

Winter Project Sign-Up

Annual Registration and SOWER Alumni

Annual Registration for 2027 began on July 1st. Look at your SOWER dashboard for the prompt to complete your annual registration and skill sheet. This annual registration must be completed before you will be able to sign up for any 2027 projects. If you are a 'retired' SOWER, but still want access to the Members page, you need to complete the annual registration each year.

If you decide NOT to keep up with your annual registration, you are a SOWER Alumni. We hope you will continue to participate in any way you can, such as:

•  Read the Newsletter

•  Utilize the prayer chain for your needs and by praying for those in need

•  Join us at rallies or reunion gatherings

•  Financially support the ministry

Let the office know via email whenever you have changes in contact information or if you wish to change your status from Alumni to Active.

2027 Project Sign-ups begin on

July 27 at 10:00am CDT



You must be registered before signing up for any projects in 2027. On your member dashboard you will see this message:

Here are some tips for a smooth sign-up process

• Sign up for your desired projects and wait patiently for the confirmation emails. Hundreds of requests can come through that first day. Your office staff will be diligently working through them.
• If you have multiple projects where you may like to serve during a particular month, you may make multiple requests for that month in the order of your preference. If you get assigned to a project and then change your mind, you will need to cancel that assignment before you sign up for a different project for the same month. Please wait patiently for you cancellation confirmation as the cancellation might take a while during this busy time.
• You can also sign up for a full project's waitlist...or even several. Just be aware that when you get assigned to a project, all of the other waitlist requests for the same month will go away.
• If you choose "desire not to be GL" you will automatically be put on a waitlist if you are the first to sign up.

Remember, there is never a month when every project that requests SOWERs is full. There is a place to serve. If you don't get to sign up where you hoped to be, pray and consider other places God can use you. You never know who you might meet or why God took you there instead.

Website Tips and Tricks

Searching for Projects Where Other SOWERs are

Already Signed Up

If you want to join other SOWERs but don't know how to find out where they are, this should help:

1. Go to the Ministry List By Month page.
2. Set your search parameters for the month or months you are looking for. For this example, it is limited to August 2026 only.
3. Choose the area you want to go. Remember, you can add MORE THAN ONE STATE into this box. Note the arrow above shows 2 states selected.
4. Uncheck the box marked FULL--you are looking for open spaces.
5. Click Search
6. In the Header Row, Click Assigned. Note the arrow above. This will list these limited projects in order of how many couples are assigned in ascending order. Clicking Assigned again changes it to descending order.

At this point you can scroll through the selected projects and find those with other SOWERs. This means there is already a GL signed up and waiting for your rig to pull in and join the fun!

Harvest Time Bible Camp
NC-522

Harvest Time Bible Camp loves SOWER volunteers so much that they dedicate a page on their website to us: SOWERS. And, if that’s not enough, we just finished raising the “SOWER Shack”, a place dedicated to SOWER volunteers for meeting, eating, gaming, fellowshipping, or whatever! It’s located next to six full-hookup RV sites, at the highest point on the campus - what a view of the camp! As we were leaving, the electrician was installing lights, outlets, ceiling fans, etc., and the plumber was installing water lines. Next will be a concrete slab and more (you’ll just have to come here and serve to find out!). With the help of several of the summer staff (great guys!), we completed several tasks, but Brother Stephen (camp director) made the “SOWER Shack” our top priority.

What a beautiful place with wonderful people and impactful ministry! And it’s located in the foothills of the North Carolina mountains…what could possibly be better? Let’s fill these six RV spaces (and put the Sower Shack to good use) next year in May (“start-up” month), and June & July (camp months).

Joe & Rae Mitchell (3979)

Harvest Time Bible Camp asks for three (3) SOWER couples from July through October - so there is still time to sign up for this year!

Underserved Projects

Pilgrim Pines

NH-400 - Swanzey, NH

Pilgrim Pines is dedicated to providing fantastic programs for campers of all ages. From their children’s and youth camp to their men’s and women’s conferences, the goal is the same – to create exciting experiences, memorable moments, and a safe place to meet God. A camp experience at Pilgrim Pines provides a breath of fresh air in the midst of our hectic world. They have openings in August and September (and September already has a GL!). 

Douglas Camp Meeting

(New Project!)

MA-578, Douglas, MA

Douglas Camp Meeting has a long history of teaching God's Word to the generations. Founded in 1875, this ministry continues to host an annual week-long Camp Meeting in July, along with retreat rentals throughout the year. The Lord has used the Douglas grounds mightily over the many years, and by His grace, more and more will become closer to Him here as time continues to unfold.

They have openings from August through November (and October already has a GL!)

Have you checked out the Underserved Project List lately?

This list updates and changes every quarter. Check them out! If you've served at one recently, we'd love to feature it in an upcoming newsletter. So send in some highlights along with a couple of pictures to newsletter@sowerministry.org to help get it OFF the list!

SOWER Stories and Testimonies

For this month, we celebrate what God has done in our past. We would love to share new stories from your experiences!

Do you have a SOWER testimony of God's power and protection as you served? Or a SOWER story? Please share it with us at: newsletter@sowerministry.org

Area Representative Update

Sharing SOWERs- A Divine Appointment

Recently, while on a 4-week vacation, we stopped at a lighthouse on the Oregon coast. We decided to take a tour of the lighthouse. We were the only 2 on the tour.  Our guide Larry (my name is Larry) gave us a great tour of the facility. Towards the end, he took a picture of us and noticed our phone cases had a Bible verse on them. We got to talking about retirement and our beliefs. He said they were full-time RVers presently work camping and looking for another place to serve. We got to talking about the SOWER ministry, and Larry and his wife, Misty, looked up the website and watched the video before we left. They said they were very interested in getting involved. It was a wonderful experience meeting them and introducing them to the SOWER ministry. This was truly a divine appointment. Just wanted to share it with you.

Larry and Roxie Green #4245

Thank you, Larry and Roxie, for writing in to the newsletter and telling us about your conversation with Larry and Misty. We hope to see Larry and Misty's names under the New SOWER members list in the future. This story definitely reinforces that SOWERs are our best advertising agents!

Personalized SOWER Business Cards

Did you know you can get cards personalized with SOWER information on one side and your photo, contact info and even a Bible verse on the flipside? Send an email to Justin Foster at TECH Team Advantage with your information and Justin will help you with the rest of the process!

Working SOWERs

Craig and Rhena Halterman (3806) with Kurt and K Kidwell (3091) serving at Camp Bighorn MT-525 in Plains, MT. The camp still has 3 open spots for October 2026.

There are 61 SOWER couples/singles serving at 40 different ministries all around the country this July. Praise God for all the work that's being accomplished! 

Do YOU have a Blog/Vlog you'd like to share? 

Send the link to newsletter@sowerministry.org and we'll add it to the 'Roll'!

Dear Sam and Sally SOWER

Dear Sam or Sally,

We decided to serve at projects closer to home this summer and fall, and we have a dilemma. We are the only ones signed up at the moment and would love to encourage others to join us. What’s the best way to get the word out to others to consider signing up? I know we have people waiting for projects because of no GL and we ran into that ourselves. If there had been some way to easily check which locations had a GL, we could have searched for another spot. Are people on the wait list ever informed about camps with a GL awaiting other members? It gets lonely being the only SOWER serving.

Signed,

Looking for a Team

Dear Looking,

What a great plan to look into projects that are close to home when you want to serve but can’t make a long trip out of it. And as for encouraging others to sign up with you, at this point, one way would be to post the information in our SOWER Facebook group. We also checked with the IT team to see if there is a possible search available on our Members Site to see which projects in a particular area have only one SOWER signed up.  And there is! Check out the Website Tips and Tricks above to see how you can generate that search, even filtering it for areas where you are hoping to serve. Of course, contacting SOWERs that you know and encouraging them to serve with you is always an option too!

Serving alone can be lonely, but it also can be a blessed time of connecting with the staff at the ministry. Thank you for your willingness to serve regardless of how many others sign up too!

Serving with you,

Sam & Sally

Do you have a SOWER etiquette question? Or maybe you'd like some clarification about a policy or rule. Sam and Sally would love to hear from you! Contact them at - samandsally@sowerministry.org

To send in a prayer request or praise item-

To submit a SOWER story or a photo to the newsletter, send it to

newsletter@sowerministry.org

Header Photo - Cathy Fry (3564) - Camp Baldwin (AL-420)

Bible Verse Photo - The Bible App

Don't Forget there are easy ways to donate to SOWERs. Click the button below to be taken to the "Donate or Purchase" page.