Alumni Profiles
Ministry takes Thomas around the world
By Deborah Lilly
When Donna (Stanley) Thomas BA ’49 left her home in Oklahoma to come to Anderson, Ind., she remembers, “Crossing the Mississippi was like going around the world.” But Anderson University was just the beginning of a journey that would take her around the world.
Donna came to AU as World War II ended. During her first semester, she remembers, “There weren’t any fellas here. But in February, here they came. Now we had 10 guys to every girl.” One of those guys was Chuck Thomas BS ’50, who was preparing for the ministry. They married and in 1952 started the Pawnee Avenue Church of God in Wichita, Kan.
In 1961 the Thomases were nurturing a growing congregation when a visiting evangelist told Chuck quite candidly, “Young man, if you ever want to amount to anything for the Lord, you need a heart for missions.” He suggested that the Thomas family travel to Mexico and visit a mission in Saltillo. Donna remembers thinking, “We’ve got plenty to do right here.” Chuck, on the other hand, had a spirit of adventure, so off they went to Mexico for a weeklong visit. It was a trip that changed them and everyone in the Wichita congregation.
Donna and Chuck did not return to Kansas with the idea to uproot their family and move to a foreign mission field. They did discover, however, that the evangelist had been right — they needed a heart for missions. Soon people in their church had the same desire. Chuck and Donna purchased a used 40-passenger Continental Trailways bus and planned a trip to Monterrey. Thomas estimates that more than 50 percent of the people in their congregation traveled to Mexico at one time or another. “They were very supportive,” says Donna.
People from other states began reserving seats on the bus, and then entire groups were asking the Thomases to arrange trips for them. Chuck and Donna established Project Partner out of these ventures. Chuck already had a pilot’s license, so as the mission sites expanded, they purchased a 40-passenger plane. Now their ministry grew to include all of Central America, the Caribbean islands and parts of South America, introducing more than 6,000 people to mission ministry. Donna and Chuck stayed with their Wichita church for 25 years before leaving to work full-time for Project Partner.
Early on in their travel experiences, Donna developed a passion for training indigenous people to be Christian leaders in their home countries. Chuck died in 1992, but Donna continued her work with Project Partner. During her lifetime, she has been to 73 different countries, including 90 trips to Mexico, 16 to China and 15 to India.
Last year, Donna finished a book about their experiences in mission work and how God led them from a one-week trip to Mexico to a worldwide adventure. Climb Another Mountain is available through Warner Press at (800) 741-7721 (order number D1381).
Retired from Project Partner, Donna knows God still has work for her to do. She has started a one-woman venture called Christian Visions Ministries (www.cvministries.org). She travels the world as a speaker, writer and consultant, occasionally making stops at her home in Indianapolis. When she thinks about her partnership with Chuck and her eagerness to continue God’s work, she’s amazed to remember, “This little girl was afraid to cross the Mississippi.”
Trumpeteers reunite
By Deborah Lilly
In the late 1950s, Harry Nachtigall BS ’59, Dean Schield BS ’58 and Bill Hazelbauer BS ’60 made a name for themselves on the AU campus and in the Church of God as the Anderson College Trumpeteers. Their repertoire ranged from “We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations” to “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.” Last spring — more than 40 years after their last concert — the trio found an opportunity to revive their act.
Schield, Hazelbauer and Nachtigall all played trumpet in the college’s band and eventually formed a trio, performing in the Triad Club’s amateur hour and at student banquets. In November 1956 they were invited to perform at the Kansas State Youth Convention in Wichita, which led to an opportunity to tour Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado the summer of 1957. “We went to a lot of small churches that never had a group from Anderson College,” explained Nachtigall.
Once the school year started, the trumpeters kept up a weekend tour schedule, playing in churches in Indiana and Ohio. The next summer, they were on the road again.
The college helped with travel expenses by paying the group five cents a mile, and offerings were collected to help defray travel expenses and future college tuition payments. “We used to think if we could get $50 an offering, that was really pretty good,” explains Paul Yerden BS ’59, a piano accompanist for several groups during his student days.
Hazelbauer adds, “The big thing was to make enough money to get back into school the next year.”
But money wasn’t the reason these AU musical groups traveled every summer. “We really felt like we had a mission,” says Hazelbauer.
These summer experiences had a profound impact on the careers of many traveling AU student musicians. Growing up as a pastor’s son, Schield had no intention of following in his father’s footsteps. But after traveling two summers, he says, “Seeing ministry happen in the churches really influenced me to go into ministry.”
The experience was also great exposure. Yerden traveled for four summers with college groups. “I came out of school and knew more pastors than most pastors knew. And they knew me. I had no problem getting a church job,” he says.
Reuniting in 2001 was an exciting prospect; however, while Schield, Hazelbauer and Yerden have used music in their careers, Nachtigall says, “For me music was always kind of a peripheral thing.” He came to AU to earn a degree in education and then embark on a career in the mission field. “I never really considered music as a profession.” When the group agreed to reunite after 40 years, he admits, “I had a lot of work to do.”
Working as a teacher and vocal performer, Hazelbauer hadn’t played the trumpet for 30 years. In fact, he sold his trumpet 20 years ago. He bought a new trumpet and spent a year getting ready for their first performance, practicing at least two hours a day.
The first reunion concert was March 11 at Schield’s church in California. In June they traveled to the North American Convention of the Church of God at AU. Accompanied by Yerden, they played at the president’s banquet, the SOT’s 50th anniversary celebration, and worship services. “The response has been wonderful,” says Hazelbauer. “More than we could have expected.”
As for future performances, Nacthigall, who lives in Costa Rica, says, “We’re open to the Lord. We enjoy working together and feel like there is a type of ministry we do together that’s different from what we do in our own special areas of ministry.”
This time Hazelbauer plans to stay in shape for their next gig. “I’m going to keep on practicing,” he promises.
