For ten weeks in 1964 a Pioneers for Christ summer witnessing team from what was then Lee College, “invaded” Hawaii with the gospel. Almost 10,000 homes were visited, 15,000 tracts distributed, 56 services conducted, and three daily Vacation Bible Schools held. Fifty-six people were saved and 141 new people were gained for the church.
[1]The 1964 Lee College PFC Team, including Douglas and Wanda Leroy (far right), recently celebrated a 50 year reunion of the team that ministered in the Aloha State for ten weeks.
The team consisted of Douglas and Wanda LeRoy, Phillis Brummett, Margaret Adams, Shirley Simpson, Cameron Smith, and Thomas Tioaquen. They were hosted by Hawaii’s state youth director Lewis R. McMahan who commented: “The results of their ministry were greater than expected, having more lasting effect on the lives of the people in Hawaii than any other program we have ever had.”
Youth Aileen Nakashima stated that “she had been drawn closer to the Lord. The team has been an inspiration to me, which gave me a desire to live and witness for Christ. ”
Three of the PFC members met their lifetime mates in Hawaii: Margaret Adams married Navy man Gene Smith; Phillis Brummett married sailor Doug Lancaster; and Thomas Tioaquen married Margaret Maquilling.
Over the past 50 years the team members have served in various areas of ministry and raised families. The LeRoys served 32 years as missionaries, culminating in Douglas LeRoy’s leadership as Director of Church of God World Missions from 2008-2012; the Gene Smiths pastored in Virginia and Florida; the Cameron Smiths pastored in several states and now operate a furniture store in Florida; the Tioaquens pastored in Hawaii and now serve as missionaries in the Philippines; the Lancasters are builders in Tennessee; and Shirley Simpson is retired in South Carolina.
“That Hawaiian summer was a life-changing experience that impacted the future of these Lee students,” stated Douglas LeRoy.
Last November, the group celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the trip by meeting together at the South Georgia Church of God Campground in Tifton. They ate together, shared stories and pictures, reflected on the experience and prayed for their families and needs. The group is forever bound through the experiences of a ministering summer.