Eagle Scout plans outdoor project at Berean Church
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BY BOB REEVES/Lincoln Journal Star
It was more than a year ago that Andrew Edwards first started planning his Eagle Scout project.
He wanted to do something to benefit Lincoln Berean Church, where he has been a member since age 4.
“An Eagle Scout project can be small or large,” said Andrew, 16. “You have to show leadership (and) responsibility; it has to be well organized and benefit a community or organization.”
He met with Jay Collins, director of operations at the church, who suggested two possible projects: one medium-sized and the other pretty big.
The medium-sized project was to create a marquee for the church. The bigger project was to develop a large tract of land owned by the church, but that was not being used.
Andrew decided to take on the bigger option, and his head started spinning with ideas. He envisioned a hiking trail winding through that big grassy area. Then he thought of a Frisbee golf course. Or how about a meditation walk?
Then it hit him: Why not combine all three ideas into a single project?
It turned out to be a lot of work, but it all will come to fruition on Aug. 2 — an all-church work day — when about 100 volunteers will spend the day turning Andrew’s dream into a reality.
Creating a plan for a meandering trail and a nine-hole disc golf course on the 15-acre site was probably the easiest step. Lining up people to help with the project and providing materials involved a lot of telephone calls and face-to-face meetings with potential donors.
He got Kirk Helmink of Nebraska Dirtworks, Inc., to excavate the trail. Josh Weber of Midway Welding volunteered to make the golf posts with wire baskets.
To get wood chips for the trail surface, he contacted local tree-trimmers, who agreed to dump chips on the site — but he’s still looking for more wood chips. Helmink also donated several big stumps, to be used as resting benches along the trail.
The project slowed when the church sold a portion of the land to an adjacent developer, which meant replatting and zoning of the remaining parcel. Andrew said he learned a lot about the city’s zoning and planning procedures in the process.
Now, finally, he’s looking forward to seeing the project come to fruition. Members of his Boy Scout Troop 15 and the church youth group, as well as some of Andrew’s friends from Lincoln Southeast High School, where he’ll be a junior next fall, will pitch in Aug. 2 to install the golf posts, surface the trail and get it ready for use.
Andrew’s dad, Brian Edwards, estimates that project could save the church several thousand dollars each year by developing the land for church use, making it eligible for a property tax exemption.
“We’ve had this undeveloped land as part of our master plan, with the idea that it would contribute to the ministry of the church,” said Jeff Petersen, directional pastor at Lincoln Berean. “We had talked about developing that area as a park, but that was sometime in the future.”
Andrew’s parents, Kathy and Brian Edwards, said they were proud of him for sticking to the project and seeing it to completion. “It’s a huge project that requires a lot of coordination,” his mother said.
“We tried to convince Andrew to scale the project down, but he wouldn’t let go of it,” added his dad.
Peterson noted that the church also recently benefitted from a project by another Eagle Scout, John Hovendick, who designed an outdoor play area for the church’s preschool area. “There are many Eagle Scouts who are involved in local churches and do projects to help them,” he said.
Scouting has been an important part of Andrew’s life since he and his family lived as missionaries in Bulgaria from 2002 to 2006.
His dad, a former associate pastor at Lincoln Berean, was teaching at the Evangelical Theological Institute, the only Protestant seminary in Bulgaria. While there, Andrew and his two sisters attended a school for children from missionary families, and he also became very active in a Scout troop.
The seven boys in the troop did a lot of camping and rock climbing, and formed a close bond, he said. Back in Nebraska, Andrew is one of the oldest members of his Scout troop, and is somewhat of a mentor to the younger boys. He served as patrol leader and currently is troop chaplain.
Andrew said his faith in God was strengthened during his time overseas, and has become the guiding purpose in his life. He just returned from a two-week trip with the Berean youth group to Costa Rica, where they worked in a village building two concrete sports courts, did a drama ministry for village children, and lived with local families.
Andrew’s dad is working on a doctoral degree from Oxford University, and still goes to Bulgaria for shorter teaching assignments. He and his wife plan to return there as long-term missionaries in a few years, after all three children are no longer in high school.
Andrew is in soccer and cross country, and show choir at Southeast. He also leads a midweek Bible study.
His long-range plans are to go to the U.S. Naval Academy and become a naval pilot.
Andrew said he thought about following in his dad’s footsteps and becoming a missionary, but “I really feel my future is in the military; I feel that’s what God is calling me to do.”
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.
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If this were strictly a private organization, they could discriminate all they like. After all, bigots can form social groups, too. Unfortunately, the Boy Scouts get special treatment from local, state, and federal governments, since people tend to think that it's a benefit to ALL boys. It's not. Since religious discrimination is un-Constitutional, our governments have no business supporting this group. And since it's also un-American, perhaps the Boy Scout leadership should ask the Girl Scouts for advice on changing this archaic and misguided policy.
P.S. Regarding this fine young man who thinks 'God' is calling on him to kill our enemies,... how does this differ from THEIR thinking? "
Community Member wrote on July 26, 2008 9:35 am:
ALB wrote on July 28, 2008 12:37 pm:
LB wrote on July 29, 2008 7:25 am: