When Doug McGinnis visited Big Lake Youth Camp, he struck up a conversation with Les Zollbrecht, camp director, that eventually led to a partnership with a local Native tribe.
In their conversation, Zollbrecht discussed a fundraiser to allow kids from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to attend summer camps at Big Lake. Zollbrecht connected McGinnis with Seth Cantu, a pastor and connection within the tribe who could help. Motivated by his love for the camp, McGinnis began putting together a plan and called Cantu on July 2, 2021.
Cantu, himself a Native, was a relatively recent addition to the Warm Springs area, having worked on four other reservations previously. He moved to Madras, Oregon, in June 2021. He received the call from McGinnis on his second day on the job as pastor of Madras Church.
McGinnis did not expect an immediate response from Cantu upon first reaching out, but a few minutes later, Cantu sent a reply saying, “When God moves, we move. I’ll call you in five minutes.” A friendship formed quickly and they were able to meet.
In the month leading up to his first day, Cantu performed a needs assessment on the reservation. One of the most pressing needs was shoes. “It was getting to the height of COVID. No shipping was working,” he recalled.
McGinnis talked about a shoe drive with Samaritan’s Feet. They started soft-pitching the fundraiser to people and had so much support that by the time the project was approved, it was already fully funded. All that remained was to find the best way to implement the project with the tribe.
“Trying to bring an individual mindset to a communal reservation has been the downfall of many Christian groups, and it doesn’t work,” Cantu said. A previous Christian denomination had done similar outreach, and, in the words of Cantu, they “beat them over the head with the name of Jesus.” This caused the tribe to be wary of similar actions.
Cantu and McGinnis decided to modify their ministry to be culturally respectful of the people of Warm Springs. This included using the term “Creator God" for Jesus and “water blessing” for foot washing. It was important that none of the outreach be compulsory. “Cultural sensitivity was a big part of the outreach," Cantu said.
On the first day of the outreach, the volunteers had to show the people of Warm Springs they were there to help. The shoe drive give-away was held on May 21, 2022, and the only people who did not partake in the water blessing only decided to skip it because the line was too long.
By the end, the elders approached Cantu and asked him if he would like to partner with Warm Springs for the back-to-school barbecue at the end of summer. The word “partner” is important because so many outreach programs become a quid pro quo of forcing indigenous people to listen to ministry in order to get what they need. By respecting the tribe and showing they were there to help first, Cantu and McGinnis gained their trust. “We are still reaping the benefits of that interaction,” said Cantu.
That initial shoe drive and the following back-to-school barbecue have led to more opportunities to help. Medical vans — including optical vans from OHSU, along with dental vans from Kaiser Permanente and vans for diabetes care and women’s reproductive health — have now been making monthly trips to Warm Springs. Other nonmedical projects include Cantu teaching classes on welding, classic car restoration and field craft to the youth. These classes will be augmented and improved by the new tool library opening in 2025 with the help of Walla Walla University.
It has all developed so fast. Cantu had written a 10-year plan saying that, “Indigenous ministries, if done right, are slow. It’s about relationship building.” With this outreach, Cantu has been able to shave years off his initial timeline.
Cantu remarked, “All these things kept coming together.”
“It's God’s breadcrumbs," McGinnis said, "because it was these little events that have brought so many people from so many different directions together!”
