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Northern bush minister
Lowell often ministered to women while their husbands sat within hearing distance. He asked one woman if she wanted to pray to receive Jesus, and she said yes. Lowell posed the same question to her husband, who promptly stood up and left.
Ministry to Women
"It was more or less the act of being a mothering, nurturing human being," she says of Nada, who ministered more to the women
Lowell held Vacation Bible School programs in all kinds of locations, including abandoned school buildings and churches. When one church wouldn’t open its doors, Fox held the program inside a school bus.
Since help usually was short, he enlisted parents of the children to teach. Many of these parents were not yet Christians, which brought criticism from some. But Lowell saw value in letting them teach.
"We found out that they got saved from studying," Lowell says.
Kids also became Christians through the Bible lessons, and some moved into ministry themselves. One 12-year-old girl played piano for Lowell’s worship services and started a Sunday school in her home with Fox’s help.
When working with kids "you had to do the things they did," Lowell says. So when he met a few teenage boys who were runners, he challenged them to a run.
“That gave me an inroad to speaking to the boys about the Lord,” he says. Within two weeks, Lowell presented the Gospel and the boys became Christians. Now, one is a leader at a church in Bark River, Mich.
"They were my friends," he says.
Some events were directed toward the entire family– making homemade ice cream, candy pulls, skating events. But Lowell didn’t like these events to get too big.
"I wanted [to] reach them on a one-to-one basis," he says.
Lowell’s grandson, Ben Fox, now pastors the Ford River church that Lowell started. He says his grandpa’s that love for people has influenced his ministry and that his passion at the pulpit is something he strives for.
Some people have praised Fox for his family legacy—praise he politely refuses.
Ministry in the northern bush
An interview with Lowell Fox
An interview with Lowell Fox
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Tia Johnson photo Lowell Fox stands in front of a church building where he once held Bible studies. It now features a "No Trespassing" sign on the front door. |
By Tia Johnson
SIDEBAR: Reaching the rural unreached
FORD RIVER, Mich. – Lowell Fox gazes from the window of a minivan as it rolls past old houses and church buildings—places where he once held Bible studies here in rural Upper Michigan.
"Most people I know are gone now," he says, pointing to abandoned or decaying homesteads.
Now 84 and retired, Lowell has officiated at nearly 400 funerals and weddings, led almost 150 weeks of Vacation Bible School and led countless "common" people to Jesus Christ through home Bible studies. He built one church and restarted several others, all while helping to raise five children, all of whom are involved in some form of ministry as adults.
Bible Studies
Lowell held his Bible studies in town halls, old schoolhouses and the homes of willing families. He said it was necessary to "get down on their plane, work with them, eat their food." So he drew examples into his sermons that people could relate to.
One story he often told took place at a well-known water edge. His daughter was at the bottom of a rocky cliff and almost fell into the water. Lowell’s first thought was, “She’s gonna die, but I’m not gonna let her die alone,” so he stepped between her and the water and caught her.
"I used that as an example of how Jesus Christ stood between us and destruction," he says.
Lowell’s sermons usually centered on specific Bible chapters or subjects. Some of his most-liked lessons were based on the Bible stories of the ax head floating, the feeding of the loaves and fishes and the crucifixion and resurrection.
Some have told him that he could say more in 20 minutes than others could in an hour. Lowell says he just followed the advice of his mentor: Get up, say what he had to say, and sit down. He did this for five separate sermons on many a Sunday.
"For quite a while I had that [schedule]," he says. "(My children) didn’t complain about it." He didn’t use notes, so each sermon was unique enough that it generally kept his kids’ attention.
Some churches in Lowell’s day neglected to reach out to people, even to their own parishioners, he says. He ran into people who said they were church members, yet the only "Bible" they owned was a prayer book.
"[They were] the type of people we were starting to reach," he says.
Ministry to Men
Men were the most difficult to reach, Lowell says. It was men who slammed doors. One even chased him and a group of kids singing carols out the door.
"Men are awful proud, and they don’t want to be told," he says.
One man who had been a heavy drinker became a Christian in his mid-50s. He had stopped his addiction and asked Lowell to baptized him in Whiskey Creek (of all places).
"He wanted to confess his sins publicly to the people, but I had to stop him," Lowell says -- his confessions were too graphic for the crowd. Later, Lowell found him singing worship songs "at the top of his lungs" at home.
Lowell often ministered to women while their husbands sat within hearing distance. He asked one woman if she wanted to pray to receive Jesus, and she said yes. Lowell posed the same question to her husband, who promptly stood up and left.
Other men were cordial. One day Lowell visited a man whose wife had become a Christian at one of Fox’s Bible studies.
“When his wife received Christ she told me not to tell him because he would beat her up,” Lowell says.
When Lowell approached the house, the man said, "‘I’ve been waiting for you to come.” He invited Lowell down to his basement, took a big pickle out of a crock and said, "Here’s one for you.”
"We sat there and ate dill pickles,” Lowell recalls. “From then on, that man was interested."
When this man was in the hospital later, he told Lowell, "I want to go home." Lowell explained the Gospel message and prayed with him to receive Jesus right there.
Ministry to Women
Lowell says that he could eventually reach some of the men through the women. One time, a woman was reached through her husband: Lowell took a woman to visit her husband’s grave, and she accepted Jesus Christ while standing at the gravesite.
Many other women became Christians through attending Lowell’s Bible studies. Kathy Jensen became a Christian after hearing an evangelist speak at one of Fox’s studies in 1974. She says neither Lowell nor his wife, Nada (who died six years ago) were very outgoing people—their ministry was more relational.
"It was more or less the act of being a mothering, nurturing human being," she says of Nada, who ministered more to the women
.
Lowell agrees. "She wasn’t a speaker or anything," he says. "She would panic in a crowd. But she was always individually working with women." And it was through these one-on-one visitations that she presented the Gospel.
Lowell agrees. "She wasn’t a speaker or anything," he says. "She would panic in a crowd. But she was always individually working with women." And it was through these one-on-one visitations that she presented the Gospel.
Ministry to Children
Lowell says that while most of the fruit in ministry came through the home Bible studies, most of the contacts were made through children who attended his Vacation Bible Schools. As Lowell’s interest in children spread, he gained more credibility in the community.
Lowell held Vacation Bible School programs in all kinds of locations, including abandoned school buildings and churches. When one church wouldn’t open its doors, Fox held the program inside a school bus.
Since help usually was short, he enlisted parents of the children to teach. Many of these parents were not yet Christians, which brought criticism from some. But Lowell saw value in letting them teach.
"We found out that they got saved from studying," Lowell says.
Kids also became Christians through the Bible lessons, and some moved into ministry themselves. One 12-year-old girl played piano for Lowell’s worship services and started a Sunday school in her home with Fox’s help.
When working with kids "you had to do the things they did," Lowell says. So when he met a few teenage boys who were runners, he challenged them to a run.
“That gave me an inroad to speaking to the boys about the Lord,” he says. Within two weeks, Lowell presented the Gospel and the boys became Christians. Now, one is a leader at a church in Bark River, Mich.
"They were my friends," he says.
Some events were directed toward the entire family– making homemade ice cream, candy pulls, skating events. But Lowell didn’t like these events to get too big.
"I wanted [to] reach them on a one-to-one basis," he says.
Lowell’s grandson, Ben Fox, now pastors the Ford River church that Lowell started. He says his grandpa’s that love for people has influenced his ministry and that his passion at the pulpit is something he strives for.
Some people have praised Fox for his family legacy—praise he politely refuses.
"I guess I tell them to just praise the Lord," Fox said, lowering his head and his voice. "I’m a little hesitant about being singled out for honor."
© 2007 Called and Sent Magazine. All rights reserved.
© 2007 Called and Sent Magazine. All rights reserved.
Tia Johnson studied journalism at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
She graduated in 2005 and now lives in Upper Michigan, where she and
her husband serve as missionaries with a community organization called
Encouragement Link. She came across Called and Sent while looking for
opportunities to write.