Mission Makers
A surfing accident nearly took Micah McElveen’s life. He suffered a broken neck and underwent years of rehabilitation after waking up as a quadriplegic. McElveen admits that before this tragedy his life was very self-centered. “My dreams, at a young age, were all about me, accolades and assets. I wanted to be rich and famous.” McElveen believes God used this experience to personally teach him about the brevity of life which caused him to completely reevaluate his life goals.
McElveen decided to use his life to help others and share the love of Christ. After spending time in an African slum, he began to feel a burden for those living in poverty. He dropped out of his college graduate program and decided to go back to Africa and invest his time furthering the Gospel. He founded Vapor Ministries in Sylacauga, Ala., which was birthed from what the Scriptures tell us about God’s heart for the poor and lost. “While we can’t change the fact that life is short, we can choose to invest it versus waste it,” McElveen shares. On April 23, 2019, McElveen will speak at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce Prayer Breakfast. The focus of his talk will be on how we can all use our brief time on earth wisely and intentionally for the glory of God.
McElveen will also share how Vapor Ministries’ staff of 500 is working to, “meet needs, feed souls, and elevate God.” The ministry has five operating centers in Africa that work to meet the needs of the community while helping to alleviate poverty and share the love of Christ. At the centers, people have access to medical support, feeding assistance, disease-awareness and disease-prevention education, job assistance, hygiene training and weekly sports leagues. “We establish sustainable centers for alleviating poverty and multiplying disciples in third-world environments,” explains McElveen. A practical way you can help the ministry is to shop at or donate your gently used goods to one of the two Vapor Thrift Stores in the Birmingham area. These thrift stores directly generate resources for the five centers in Africa while also providing affordable goods to shoppers, vaporministries.org.
The Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce Prayer Breakfast will begin with a buffet at 7 a.m. followed by the program. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase for $20 each. To purchase tickets, visit www.vestaviahills.org and click on the calendar feature for April 23 or call 205-823-5011.
- Melissa Armstrong
