Gail Castle’s Keynote Address at the 2025 Brick & Mortar event

There are thousands and thousands of reasons to celebrate our 50th Birthday! It truly is a Jubilee, 50 years of making a difference and answering the call to serve.

Mountain T.O.P.'s theme this year is Jubilee. The English word Jubilee is derived from the Latin word, Jubilaeus (U baily oos). It means a celebration of rejoicing. Join me with shouting out in the good ole Mountain T.O.P fashion Hallelujah and shout it with me three times with a crescendo each time. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah! 

I know Dad, and all of the saints that have already passed on, are rejoicing with us in our celebration of 50 years. Those of you here tonight who were a part of the first decade 1975 - 1985 please stand. The second decade 1985 - 1995 please stand, 1995 - 2005 please stand, 2005 - 2015 please stand, 2015 - 2025 please stand. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah! 

There are celebrations planned throughout the year. We invite you to anticipate all of the JUBILEE moments to come. Save the date of August 2nd for the 50th Jubilee celebration at Beersheba Springs Assembly Grounds, where MountainT.O.P. began its ministry.

Tonight I bring you my perspective of why we have reached this major milestone, and, to challenge us to look ahead.

Mountain T.O.P. has demonstrated and has stayed true to the synergistic principle of serving God by serving others, year after year, decade after decade. Mountain T.O.P. has also remained anchored to the belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Each part matters, each part serves together, and the result of that, is long-lasting and life-giving.

As I prayed for guidance on what message to bring to us tonight, my spirit was moved to challenge us all to set our eyes on the future. Before we do that, I want to highlight Mountain T.O.P.'s theme this year. JUBILEE. My interpretation of the word JUBILEE when thinking about Mountain T.O.P is up on the screen. I encourage you to have your own JUBILEE interpretations and expressions.

J - Joy in the journey. All of the joy felt and experienced along the way.

U - Unflappable. Mountain T.O.P. has remained true to its core mission. Persevered to serve, even in the most troubling and threatening circumstances.

B - Blessed by God's grace and God's people. People from coast to coast, coming to serve at Mountain T.O.P. who heard the call to use their talents and gifts here in this region of the world.

I - Impactful and life changing. We can’t really know the true ripple effect of the thousands who have had a Mountain T.O.P. experience of one kind or another.

L - Love has been a verb at Mountain T.O.P. Dad frequently  said “it’s fun to be a Christian.” I believe he was saying this to remind us that through our serving we love others. Mountain T.O.P. provides a place where people come as they are and are loved as they are.  

E - Edifying and modeling the teachings and the ways of Jesus. Being the hands and feet of Jesus.

E - Empowering to all who seek a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationship with God.

I realize there are SOOOOO many things that could be said tonight. There are two things I feel are really important.

First thing: Mountain T.O.P. is a 5 part win-win paradigm that has stood the test of time and is why it's celebrating 50 years of ministry and outreach.

The 5 legged stool can be seen above.

* The seat of the stool is the core mission to serve God by meeting needs.

* One leg is the people Mountain T.O.P. serves

* Another leg is all of the staff Mountain T.O.P. hires (year round and seasonal) to facilitate the work of the ministry.

* Another leg is the volunteers and participants (church groups, individuals, families, alumni, friends, and other groups, the rentals of the facilities).

* Another leg is the supporters i.e. the Board of Directors, Donors, In-Kind Givers, and Resource Partners.

* Another leg is the assets and properties of MountainT.O.P., their maintenance and utilzation

* The bar of the stool is God's spirit and blessings and is what connects all of the parts together and gives it balance.

I believe these 5 parts will remain foundational into the next several decades of service because they are the CORE of how Mountain T.O.P implements its mission to serve others. 

A paradigm is how we see, think, and feel about something. It's our perspective. The 5 legged stool represents, for me, partnership and interdependence, the "We Need Each Other" paradigm.

There are so many examples of Jesus using paradigms to teach his disciples and followers. He also used paradigm shifts. He taught his disciples to see things differently than they always had.

I believe we must have a paradigm shift to remain relevant and thrive in the future.

Gail used this image to demonstrate her point at shifting the paradigm. Can you see both the young woman and the old woman?

One example of a paradigm shift Jesus used, happens to be one of our missional scriptures. Matthew 4:18-20. “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

Another paradigm shift he used comes from the scripture Matthew 25:34-36, 40.

Do we need a paradigm shift to establish a sustainable pathway forward into the next decades of doing the work of the ministry? Yes, we do. What's it going to take to be as effective and even more effective going forward? The world is changing rapidly. How is Mountain T.O.P. going to remain relevant and thrive?

Brene Brown says that vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity and innovation. Is Mountain T.O.P. vulnerable? Yes, we are.

I say we are vulnerable because the ways we have done things for 50 years, may not be all of the ways that keep us relevant and thriving in the future. Humans resist change because change requires a lot of work. From my perspective, we ARE vulnerable because Mountain T.O.P. is positioned at its 50th to travel two roads. One road is the road of history, celebrating all that has been accomplished and believing that those accomplishments will continue to have life-changing ripple effects. This is a risky place to exist because we can be complacent in what we’ve accomplished. The other road is looking ahead to the future. Looking for different and better ways of doing things.

Yes, we should celebrate our JUBILEE and dance, sing, worship, and praise God for the 50 years of ministry and do this unabashedly.

We must also be willing to have a paradigm shift and realize our vulnerability. Our vulnerability is found in the statistic and fact that so many organizations never reach their full potential and travel the road into the future because they get stuck in a complacent position and view. This "stuckness" limits growth, innovation, and change that could be sustainable.

I suggest tonight we must be willing to have paradigm shifts to allow for creativity and innovation and be open to change, so that we sustain the work and continue to answer the call.

Celebrate and praise God for what has been, AND, set our eyes ahead. Look back at the history and remember it with fondness and joy, then seek wisdom from it, and then, turn and look ahead and find new creative ways and innovative ways to serve. As soon as we judge a new and innovative way, because that's not how we've done it in the past, we are most likely blocking ourselves from growth and the opportunity to reach new levels of potential and sustainable pathways.

What's most important now, are the thousands of lives and hearts waiting to be changed through being a part of the 5 legged stool, the mission of Mountain T.O.P.  I invite you to join me in prayer.