Since beginning their mission work in 1999, the members of Seymour First Baptist Church have trotted the globe in cars, buses, RVs, and planes and have traveled to such far away places as Iceland, Botswana, and most recently, to the damaged landscape of the Mississippi Gulf coast. Each time these good Samaritans arrive, their purpose is twofold: to preach the word of God, and to help others that are less fortunate.
While many churches can be lauded for their charity work, the members of the Seymour First Baptist Mission go well beyond exercising conventional charity work. Every three to four weeks, Frank Enter, leader of the Seymour Baptist Mission organizes a charity retreat to help those in need.
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast last year, it was Enter who simply thumbed through the phone book to find a local Baptist Church- Grace Chapel Baptist in Pass Christian Mississippi- to see if they needed help rebuilding the church’s edifice. And when Enter heard that there was a man in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that had purchased an abandoned movie theater in downtown Philly with the hopes of turning the dilapidated building into a place of worship, it was Enter and his team that promptly got in an RV bus and headed to the keystone state to lend a helping hand.
A year after the mission’s trip to Mississippi, Grace Chapel Baptist Church has been fully restored, and just months after the mission’s first trip to Philadelphia, they are set to return for a second trip for the purpose of opening the Philadelphia church to the public.
Funding for the mission’s charitable work comes almost exclusively from three sources; a bake and rummage sale in the fall (held this past Saturday), a larger rummage sale offering donated consumer items such as cars, boats, and RVs (held in the spring), and through the donations of local residents in the Seymour community. Just this past Friday, the Mission raised $4,400 on their fall rummage bake sale, and looks forward to raising significantly more money on the spring bake sale, considering that last year’s bounty came to over $13,000.
The details and frequency of their missions are simply amazing. Each mission comprises anywhere from four to thirty-seven people forgoing a weekend of sunbathing or football to instead, opt to cram into a RV and drive cross-country to a venue that will no doubt, demand of them the hardest labor. There is no daily per diem. There is no Holiday Inn Express. When they arrive to the place in question, more than likely, they’ll sleep on the floor. Since last September, they’ve been to Pass Christian Mississippi eleven times. They’ve also been engaged in a myriad of local charity work that includes funneling some of the funds received from local bake sales to local Seymour residents.
In a time when charity often begins and ends with a quick emptying of the pockets for a part-time Santa in front of a department store, or the inspired late-night dialing of a 1-800 number, the actions of the First Baptist Ministry in Seymour is living proof that the art of charity can be so much more.
When asked how Frank Enter and his team find the time or the know-how to accomplish these demanding missions, he casually says that it’s because he paces himself by only working a half-day, that is, “from six in the morning to six at night.” Enter’s next project is to build a 36 ft. mobile recovery van that can rush to the scene of a natural disaster to offer shelter, bedding, showers, and even hot coffee to those that have been indefinitely displaced. He’ll do this, somehow, by removing the engines from two RV’s to create the necessary horsepower for the frigate sized vehicle.
Given their assiduous work ethic, it is clear that for the members of First Baptist Church in Seymour, the biblical parable that proclaims that men shall “do unto others,” isn’t just a religious or moral belief. It is a lifestyle.
For the members of First Baptist Church in Seymour, the biblical parable that proclaims that men shall “do unto others,” isn’t just a religious or moral belief, it is a lifestyle.

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