by Marilyn Stewart, posted Friday, August 17, 2018 (6 years ago)
NOBTS photo
NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Dakota Badlands, a barren stretch of land once described as "a place with a long list of secrets," doesn't typically receive top billing as a vacation destination.
But for Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and his wife Rhonda, a trek across North and South Dakota is one they wished they had taken sooner.
Taking their cue from the NOBTS centennial challenge to go on a mission trip this year, the Kelleys decided on a mission trip/vacation this summer, encouraging church planters with a listening ear alongside Chuck Kelley's goal to visit all 50 U.S. states. The trip allowed him to visit states 49 and 50.
Dubbing it the "Great Dakota Adventure," the Kelleys set out to find and encourage church planters and their wives serving in out-of-the-way places. Over a meal at each stop, the Kelleys heard stories of blessing and God's faithfulness and of trial and difficulty as church planters told of what God is doing in the Dakotas. Read More