Native American Ministries

If all of the inquiries that Native American Ministries (NAM) is receiving is indicative of operations for 2012, then next year is going to be both busy and productive. As requests for ministry and construction teams come in from reservation pastors, they will be posted under the page titled, “Getting Involved,” along with pertinent contact information for each location.

Please keep in mind that we are responsible for raising all of our living and ministry funds. We accomplish this by soliciting monthly support form both individuals and churches. The Department of Intercultural Ministries has ordered us to raise an additional $3,600 in monthly support in order to keep up with the financial demands of NAM. This is requiring that Diane and I take a 12 month, fund raising furlough. NAM will continue to provide information for construction and ministry opportunities but will delegate much of the oversight to those out in the field. Please feel free to contact us with questions that you may have regarding these matters.

The bulk of operational funding for Native American Ministries is generated from pledged, monthly donations from churches and other organizations, as well as individuals. Another major source is cash donations. This ministry has accomplished much since it began in 2005 and as a result, like all successful ministries, must also work hard to keep up with the financial demands that are a natural part of organizational growth. We are in the process of raising another $3,600 a month in additional funding. Please pray that God gives us the wisdom and favor we need for such an arduous undertaking. As you pray, please consider being an answer to your prayers.

We have provided an easy means to  make a one time cash donation, via, PayPal, as well as providing monthly support by going to the page, “Service or Financial Support,” and hitting, Click Here, in order to make a monthly faith promise. Do not fall into the false thinking that if you cannot pledge much that it is not worth pledging at all. As little as $5 to $10 a month, when added to other pledges, begins to add up in a hurry.

If you believe in this ministry than we ask you to show it by supporting it. Thank you.

Kc Kopaska, Director

It is time for Native American Ministries to redesign its school backpack brochure, and we want your help. Here is the plan. Since this program benefits Indian children, we want children from Sunday school classes, private schools, home schools, etc. to compose artwork that we can integrate into the overall design of a new brochure. We may use all or part of the artwork submitted to the contest and will even accept ideas for textual information. Children know what they need for school. I am more of a kid than an adult, so if I were submitting ideas for backpack contents, I would suggest a couple of fun things that are still helpful for doing homework and classroom projects. The brochure will be printed on 8.5″ X 11″ stock and will be tri folded just like the one we already use. Upon request, I will provide the brochure that we are already using for your inspiration. Whether a class room, individual child, or Sunday school department, the winner(s) will receive a one time scholarship of $250 for a missions trip to a reservation. There will be an entry fee of $5 for an individual or $15 for a group. For more information, please call or email me. Kc

Native American Ministries (NAM) constantly receives requests from reservation churches for equipment, construction materials and volunteers, ministry supplies, and, occasionally, funds. Nearly every single church that we partner with is instrumental in raising at least some of the funds necessary for programs and projects that we help them conduct. Following is a list of requests that NAM is currently working on:

1) Fort Apache Reservation – Canyon Day A/G: video projector, approximate cost is $1,100. This is a brand new church and a video projector is just about the last big ticket item that they need in order to button up this project.

2) Yankton Sioux Reservation – Wagner A/G: video series “…if anyone has completed a series and would like to donate or LOAN it to us.”  Tim is especially looking for studies “For Men Only”. E-mail: prministries2@gmail.com or visit the website www.prministries.net.  Our mailing address is: PO Box 28, Wagner SD 57380 and you can contact us at 321-446-0894 or the office, 605-384-5867.

3) Navajo Reservation – Cameron, AZ – 48′X12′ metal roof for a a trailer that is used to house ministry teams. This is a very windy part of the U.S.

4) Navajo Reservation – Tuba City, AZ – Major remodeling of a trailer so that it can be used as a youth facility. The church has already raised a considerable portion of the funds.

5) Rosebud Sioux Reservation – Sinte Gleska University, South Dakota: Commercial pots, pans, and utensils. The University provides rooms and its kitchen and auditorium for wakes and other community events but runs on a very tight budget. In cooperation with All Nations Family Worship Center, we want to address this need as a way for the church to build bridges with the community, including tribal leadership. This is an important opportunity for significant outreach ministry for years to come.

Please feel free to contact me at your convenience, via email, at info@nativeamerican-ministries.org or by phone at (417) 425-6653.

Even though Native American Ministries (NAM) has not yet hung up its hat for 2011, this is a good time of the year to celebrate its accomplishments and express gratitude to the Lord for all that he has enabled this ministry to do. It was not the biggest construction project that NAM has undertaken, but placing a new steeple on the church at Lower Brule (Lower Brule Sioux Reservation) was the most meaningful. With the help of a lot of hardworking and generous people, NAM was instrumental in tearing down and then building a new church in this community in 2007. Nearly four years later, an old friend, Richard, built an enlarged replica of the old steeple, which we placed on the new building last July. Along with that project we coordinated remodeling work on a church on the Standing Rock Reservation (Diane and I were pastors of both this church and the one at Lower Brule.), refurbished the parsonage at Mission on the Rosebud Res., and provided for small projects in many Indian homes.

As always, NAM provided an extraordinary number of ministry opportunities. I do not have space here to reference all of them. A church group from Pennsylvania kicked off the year with a trip to a new church plant on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, which is officiated by an old friend of mine named Bill Lee. Bill is a full-blooded Navajo and clearly understand the needs of his people. He needs a lot of help in getting his new work off of the ground. Besides all of the vacation Bible schools that NAM coordinated (Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wisconsin), two projects stand out above the rest, though, equal in importance. They are the Day in the Park events at Mission and Lower Brule. At Mission, approximately 1,000 Indians attended the event and this in a very traditional community. At Lower Brule, the pastor, Randy Jenson, also invited residents of the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation, which is located just across the Missouri River. Close to 800 people from both communities attended Lower Brule’s Day in the Park.

As of this date, NAM is busier than ever gathering and preparing to distribute Christmas boxes and winter clothing through our Birthday Party for Jesus program. Along with this activity, we are receiving more requests than ever before from churches all across America that want to go to the reservation in 2012. It looks like 2012 will be a very productive year for reaching Native Americans with the gospel. We thank all of you that were instrumental in helping Native American Ministries accomplish so much in 2011. May the Lord receive all of the glory and praise.

The below entry was originally posted on August 18th, 2011. Connie desperately wanted our help with her requests for commercial cookware. Her eyes lit up with hope and relief that someone actually wanted to help her. It is not too late. Let’s get the job done for this kind lady and in the process shine a bright spotlight on All Nations Worship Center by giving these items to Sinte Gleska in the name of the church. She is not necessarily asking for new items, but they do need to be in like new condition. Please feel free to contact her in person for a list of items at either 605-856-8100 or 605-828-2929. Please contact me as well at 417-425-6653. I can raise matching funds toward your efforts of up to $100 per church or other agency. Believe me, word will spread quickly all over the Rosebud Reservation if we give this project the effort due the goodness and provision of our God.

Last summer, many team members stayed at the Sinte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota for the outreach that Native American Ministries coordinated and conducted there in July. A kind lady by the name of Connie One Star, the University’s Environmental Director, was our hostess. Besides ministry teams, Connie also hosts wakes and other community events for large numbers of people. She makes available the university’s kitchen, including its commercial grade pots, pans, and utensils which can be quite expensive. In order to keep costs as affordable as possible for the Rosebud Reservation’s students, tuition is kept at a minimum. It has to be. Unemployment on this reservation often runs over 80%. There simply are no jobs available for these people in such an isolated part of the Country. This seriously limits the funds that she needs to do her job, and she takes a great deal of pride in it.

To make a long story short, in conjunction with All Nations Family Worship Center, we are returning her kindness by helping stock the University’s kitchen with commercial cookware that it is desperately lacking. She needs huge pots, pans, serving trays/pans, ladles, knives and just about anything one might imagine is needed for a kitchen that feeds hundreds of people at a time. We are asking you to either donate funds or cookware or both if you are so inclined. You may send them to NAM’s address. Please let us know the amount that you need receipted for tax deductions. Thank you.

My book can also be ordered from Kindle, Amazon, and a host of other book outlets. It might save you a few dollars to shop around, though, if you want a signed copy(s) you will have to order it directly from me at: Kc Kopaska, 107 East Halsey, Republic, MO 65738. $13.95 for the book, $2.50 (S&H), and $1.08 (Missouri residents only). Thank you.

The Rosebud Reservation “Day in the Park” outreach, held Saturday, July 12th, was a huge success. Conservatively, 1,000 guests from the reservation attended the event even though temperatures reached the high nineties with unusually high humidity for this part of the country. Volunteer teams, families, and individuals came from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as locally from several churches in South Dakota. This was, without a doubt, one of the smoothest functioning community wide events we have ever conducted. It was touching to see both adults and children enjoying themselves, reading the Native American Book of Hope, and relishing in the presence of God. Our thanks go to the hospitality of the Sinte Gleska University for housing, the community of Mission for its excellent cooperation, and all of the hard working volunteers. It was a blessing to serve pastors Johnny and Heidi Wade of All Nations Family Worship Center. We are planning a repeat performance in 2012, and you are invited to give us a hand.

My new book, “Afterburn: the Kc Kopaska Story,” is in print and is available for sale, though, I will not have hard copies in hand until 7 to 10 business days from the date of June 27th. The cost of the book is $13.95 + $2.50 for shipping and handling, if applicable. There is an additional fee for taxes of $1.08 for Missouri residents. In order to purchase a copy(s), please mail your payment to 107 East Halsey, Republic, MO 65738. The subtitle of the book is, “A story of tragedy, redemption, and transformation.” This is a great read for those that are experiencing difficult times in their lives or who simply love to be inspired by the triumph of God’s redeeming power in the most impossible of situations.

The half ton truck that has been the workhorse of Native American Ministries is getting tired, even though it is only a little over three years old. I had to have the transmission rebuilt twice last summer and, recently, the rear end. Native American Ministries (NAM) is growing in leaps and bounds and obviously needs to update its equipment in order to meet the growing demands of this ministry. Purchasing a truck presents a challenge to raise approximately $40,000 for a heavier duty vehicle. We need a three-quarter ton, gasoline powered truck. The additional horsepower, weight bearing capabilities, and heavier gear box are necessary for the heavy trailers that we pull to reservations all over the United States. NAM is growing because it is effective and so is its equipment requirements. Besides praying for God’s provision, you can donate funds specifically designated for purchasing a truck, outright purchase a vehicle for NAM, or donate a used one that is in excellent operating condition. With your help, this is an important need that will be met in a timely manner. Please contact me, Kc Kopaska, directly by phone (417) 425-6653) or email (kc@nativeamerican-ministries.org), and lets keep this ministry on the path of reaching more and more Native Americans with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.