All the Continents

The son of an Iowa church planter, David Frakes grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Ozark Christian College. There he met Loretta, a Casper ,Wyoming girl. Their three daughters, Bethany, Rachel, and Karissa, learned the love of travel from their parents. David's heritage, gifts, and heart are in ministry. A three-year youth ministry in Michigan prepare them for a twelve-year youth ministry with the Broomfield Christian Church. David is a swing courier for FedEx serving as a player/coach/supervisor and Loretta is a literacy teacher at Birch Elementary.

What brought you to Discovery?

Tim Dally started the church and they were already staffed. I was ready for a change, so I volunteered to help.

You were in charge of setting up and tearing down the worship/education setting for 10 years. Why did you get involved in this area? What makes it hard or easy?

First, it's necessary since we're renting the school. Second, organization is my gifts set. Recruiting, organizing, and shifting people is what I do. It is time consuming - about 1 hour each night of the week. Our volunteers do this because of our common mission and purpose. I learned to rely on people. When I couldn't recruit others, I ended up securing my family to help out. It's better when more are involved. We build relationships as we work. We always need people. It takes coordination.

You also coordinate Discovery's role with the Denver Rescue Mission. Tell me about that.

Kristin Cage, who now serves in Indonesia, was the first to go to Denver Rescue mission and we went along. The Knoetgens and then the Barbers took over for Kristin and I took over when the Barbers moved. Why do this? I enjoy offering a helping hand to the less fortunate. I like the camaraderie. These are good people.

What appeals to you about Discovery church?

Relationships with people. I like the chance to help out. The spirit and expectation of service.

You are still in charge of ushers and servers. But what is next for David and Loretta?

We like baseball and want to visit all the major league ballparks. We love to travel. More seriously, Loretta and I want to visit every continent in connection with our global partners.

Do you have a travel schedule?

We've been to Europe and Australia. We went to China and Asia to visit Aaron Carmichael. We want to go to Kenya and Egypt in 2010, Paraguay and Antartica in 2012.