BRIDGTON – When Jesus commanded his followers to spread the gospel to all the world, that meant their own community as well, says the Rev. Ed Boon of the Bridgton Alliance Church, which next week is planning missions-related services and activities such as medical clinics, home repair and even free golf lessons.

Rather than flying to a different continent to perform missions work, church members are staying local, providing useful services while sharing the gospel.

“In the Book of Acts, when Jesus is talking to his disciples before leaving, he said, you’ll be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, where they were, as well as Judea and Samaria, which was the surrounding area, and the outermost parts of the world. So it starts at home and spreads out,” Boon said of mission work.

The church has organized several trips to foreign countries, but never one in their own backyard of Bridgton. SPARK Week, as the May 18-26 event is being called, aims to simulate foreign missions work right at home, said church member and SPARK Week organizer Rick Hagerstrom, who lives in Bridgton and teaches at Windham Christian Academy.

“I’ve led several short-term missions trips both at school and my church, but something I hear a lot at the church from the adults is, I can’t afford a lot of time away from home, or I can’t afford the cost of travel. So the idea is to hold a short-term missions trip to Bridgton for the Bridgton church. And all of the things we would do on a short-term missions trip, we are doing for that week at home,” Hagerstrom said.

“SPARK,” which Hagerstrom coined to reflect the impact he wants the week to have in both the community and the congregation, stands for Serving Practically and Relating Kindly.

“We have things scheduled that meet needs in a very real and practical way,” he said.

Service-oriented events include a free car wash, free house construction work overseen by local builder Bob Grigg, free medical clinics administered by local physician Dr. Alan Bean, roadside trash clean-up along Route 117, and free baked goods distribution to area nursing homes, the Bridgton police station and library and even town halls.

While foreign missions work can mix fun and work for those involved, SPARK Week is also designed to be fun with free boat rides offered at the Harrison town dock on Long Lake, free golf lessons, juggling shows, a Tuesday evening hymn sing, and a closing Sunday morning performance at the church by a Nashville-based Christian band, Ernie Couch & Revival.

Local missions

Some church members are taking the week off to participate in SPARK Week while others are chipping in as their work or family responsibilities allow, Hagerstrom said.

Dr. Bean, of Harrison, is using a vacation week to host the free medical clinic in a room at Bridgton Alliance Church. Bean is offering medical care from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 20-24. He said the free service will “be akin to a walk-in clinic which treats minor injuries, sniffly cold, bronchitis. I’d be happy to do DOT physicals or school sports physicals, basically anything that is simple outpatient medicine. And it’s all free,” he said.

Bean worked nine years as an emergency room doctor and the past 16 as an occupational medicine physician, dealing with workplace injuries. He works at Central Maine Partners in Health, which has clinics in Auburn and South Portland. With such a background, he’s prepared for a variety of patients during SPARK Week. He’ll bring basic medical equipment and materials, similar to what medical missions work would require in foreign countries. For more complicated cases, or cases that require a specialist, Bean said he’d be able to write referrals.

“We’ll be open to taking most anything that walks through the door. As a guy that has almost 10 years of experience in emergency medicine, pretty much nothing scares me walking through the door but if somebody walks through having a heart attack we’re going to be calling 911. We’re not trying to replace the emergency room by any means,” he said.

Bean, who is covered by his insurance, will be assisted by four nurses who attend Bridgton Alliance Church as well as non-medical staff helping with processing.

Bean, who has done medical missions work in rural Kentucky, is excited to offer medical services to the local Bridgton population due to the number of uninsured people in the area.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have insurance in today’s economic climate, and I would like to give back to the community something that I have as a skill,” Bean said.

Bean is also using the week as a test-run for the kind of work he’d like to do in the near future.

“I’ve actually considered redefining my practice as I approach retirement, doing more of an outpatient cash-and-carry kind of thing specifically for people who don’t have insurance. I have a few friends who have done that, basically they have stopped taking insurance, and perform low-cost cash-and-carry care. So, as I’m doing this, I’ll probably be thinking about that,” Bean said.

Like Hagerstrom and Boon, Bean is hoping SPARK Week is a success with the community taking advantage of the various activities and services.

“I hope we stay busy and can serve a lot of people,” he said.

For a complete listing of SPARK Week (May 18-26) activities and services, check out www.bridgtonalliancechurch.org, or call the church at 647-2027.

Bridgton Alliance Church members and SPARK Week organizers include, from left, construction coordinator Bob Grigg, the Rev. Ed Boon, medical clinic coordinator Dr. Alan Bean, and SPARK Week main coordinator Rick Hagerstrom. Courtesy photo