A South Carolina business found a unique way to support International Mission Board missionaries. Golf Carts.
The partnership began when an envelope bearing the STC Golf Cars logo and return address was delivered to the wrong desk at the IMB. Carl Martin, director of U.S. operations and logistics, knew the letter wasn’t for him, but the golf cart logo caught his eye. His team was preparing a proposal for a long-body cart and needed some advice.
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Five minutes into the first conversation, Steve McCarley, owner of STC Golf Cars, said he didn’t know where this was headed, but he was all in. Martin invited Steve and his son, Cameron, to visit the International Learning Center, so they could get a better idea of what the IMB needed. That visit changed the trajectory of the newly formed partnership.
‘Special’ opportunity
“To go to the facility where our missionaries are trained is special,” Steve said about the 230-acre campus where missionaries prepare for life on mission among those who have not heard the gospel. “It should be on the bucket list for every Southern Baptist because it will change your life.”
Steve and Cameron witnessed new missionaries and their children learning to adjust to other cultures and use their God-given gifts to reach the nations. They also saw how their own gifts and knowledge played perfectly into the role of supporting and equipping missionaries.
“Even though Steve and Cameron had been donating to the IMB for years, you could tell that finding this point of connection really lit their fire,” Martin said.
The father-son team took one look at the almost 20-year-old fleet of golf carts and golf cars — the technical name for the larger vehicles — the IMB owned and mapped out a plan. They spent time with staff asking about their specific job tasks. Cameron envisioned toolboxes and ladder racks for maintenance golf carts. He even drew up a plan for a cart to haul around audio-visual equipment that needed more shock-absorption.
Tailored to a specific task
What started out as helping the IMB replace one long-body golf cart ended in finding an entire fleet of 26 used carts. Each one is tailored to a specific task for supporting missionaries.
“I believe that if you ask the Lord to let you use your talent in some capacity, if you are open to using it, He will give you an opportunity,” Cameron said.
Steve nodded and added, “You may be in a business and can’t fathom how God may be able to use you, but we’re living examples that He can, and He will!
“Who ever dreamed that golf carts could have an impact on the nations?”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alex Smith and Sue Sprenkle and originally published by the International Mission Board.
