Ministering to a City that Doesn't Exist

For nearly 51 weeks out of the year, the city isn’t even a city. Located nearly 200 miles southeast of Fairbanks and nearly 200 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, this isolated venue is more regularly frequented by wandering wolves or a meandering bear than people. But for that one wild and snow-filled week, the location becomes the fourth largest city in Alaska — bustling with up to 15,000 people — and one incredible opportunity for ministry!

Assemblies of God U.S. Missions Intercultural Ministries missionaries to Native People in bush Alaska, Chaplain Terry and Danean Hull, explain that thousands come from all over Alaska and the world to participate in and view one of the world’s most demanding and unique sporting events — The Arctic Man Classic.

Called the ultimate adrenaline rush by organizers, the Arctic Man is billed as one of the “world’s toughest downhill ski races” and snowmobile races wrapped into one event. Skiers start the race atop a 5,800-foot summit, dropping 1,700 feet in less than two miles. They then meet up with their snowmobiler partners who tow them at up to 86 miles per hour to a second mountain where they release and drop another 1,200 feet to the finish line.

But with all that excitement and literally being isolated from the rest of the world — the real or perceived lack of any accountability makes the Arctic Man for some, little more than a weeklong binge of drinking, drugs, and other excesses. “What Sturgis is to motorcycle operators, the Arctic Man is to snowmachine (snowmobile) operators in Alaska — both good and bad,” Hull says. 

Hull says that the 31^st Arctic Man, held April 4-9, 2016, was his first time to attend the event with their new mobile chapel — an Army bus he converted with the help of BGMC (Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge) funds to provide a warm place for people to sit, talk — perhaps sober up a bit — and soon, enjoy some hot chocolate or coffee. The bus also features an LED cross on the top, so it’s readily identifiable as a chapel.

“I wasn’t sure if I would be allowed to set up what basically amounts to a church at the event,” says Hull, who is based in Anchorage. “But when I called, the organizer was happy to have us and gave us a great location.”

“Being an endorsed AG chaplain in addition to being an endorsed U.S. missionary is a key part of Terry’s ministry,” explains Manuel Cordero, senior Chaplaincy director for the Assemblies of God. “Terry recognized that as a chaplain he could gain access to — and even be welcomed or invited to — events and locations that otherwise could be closed to him.”

Although one might expect the “great location” Hull was given to have a more “family-oriented” feel, Hull has the “reach-the-lost” missionary mindset. So, he was excited to learn when he arrived that he was placed in The Wild West Parking Lot — an area with a well-earned reputation for loud, long, and wild partying.

“When I arrived and told one of the vendors what my lot number was, he was surprised, asking me how I got that prime spot, right in the middle of the party,” Hull says. “But that’s exactly where God wanted me to be!”

God continued to confirm Hull’s presence at the Arctic Man Classic with another unexpected blessing. Hull went to seek permission from the event organizers to pass out his race2win/Philippians 3:14 “business” card. The folded card flips open to reveal the plan of salvation on the inside and a sinner’s prayer and Hull’s website address on the back.

“I didn’t want to break any rules or make the race organizer upset with me, because I was given a prime ministry location and wanted to be welcomed back,” Hull explains. “But when I showed the organizer an example of the race2win card, he looked at it, and said, ‘Tell you what, you give them to me and I’ll make sure that every vehicle that enters gets one of these.’ There’s no way I could have ever gotten the card into all those people’s hands on my own — that was a God thing!”

Hull says that throughout the week he was able to interact with a lot of people at the event and establish relationships, with many encouraging him to return for next year’s Arctic Man. “I looked at this year as a time to plant seeds into hearts and lives,” Hull says. “I believe consistency will result in growing trust, growing recognition, and growing relationships — all of which, through God’s grace, will also earn me the opportunity to speak into lives — and be heard.”

Hull says he will continue to upgrade the mobile chapel and says he plans on taking it to as many dog sled and snowmachine events as he can drive to. Places he plans to minister at include the Copper Basin 300, Yukon Quest, Iron Dog, Mount Marathon, and the 45^th annual Iditarod Dog Sled race. “Our desire is to develop this outreach ministry to any location where there is a group of people gathering on the road system.”

However, the Hulls haven’t lost sight of their calling as they will continue their ministry to bush Alaska.

“One of the things I really appreciate about Terry and Danean is their focus on raising up indigenous ministers of the gospel within the people group they are ministering to in Alaska,” says Malcolm Burleigh, AG Intercultural Ministries senior director “As a result of their effort, native ministers are developed and deployed within that community — the Hulls are driven, passionate, and their commitment is over the top!”

“We have a vision to minister to the villages along the nearly 3,400 miles of dog sled race trails,” Terry Hull says. “The villages are isolated and the conditions can be brutal, as the temperature can drop to as low as 60 below, and wind chill to 100 below zero, but we believe God has called us and now is the time!”

Editor’s note: Hull is the assistant director of Camp Agaiutim Nune (The Place of God), a kids camp run by AG missionaries Jim and Linda Schulz for Yupik Eskimo children in remote Western Alaska (BGMC/Coins for Kids funds helped build the camp). The camp fits perfectly with the Hulls’ calling as it is located 500 miles west of Anchorage, 17 miles from the nearest village, and is only accessible by boat! He is also the director of Voice to the Village, Alaska Church Network, and is the metro area field representative for Intercultural Ministries.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.