Vivian Cornwell
6th October 2006, 09:19 AM (09:19)
The following ariticle about Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder was in the Columbus Dispatch this morning. Dr. Gamertsfelder has given MUCH to the cause of Christ.
Missions have been life’s work for local optometrist
Friday, October 06, 2006
Dennis M . Mahoney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder
Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder knows well what it means to witness for one’s faith through work.
After all, he has been on at least 60 mission trips through the years, often using his experience as an optometrist to help others see more clearly.
"Just being on the job site, you’re a witness," Gamertsfelder said. "You’re there representing Christ. You’re showing them how you believe, what you believe."
The 78-year-old Northeast Side resident, who retired from his optometry practice 13 years ago, has been making mission trips for the Church of the Nazarene since 1973. He started the denomination’s "Men in Missions" program, which in 1984 became known as "Work and Witness."
Last year, 639 Work and Witness teams fanned out around the world; since its founding, the mission program has involved more than 150,000 volunteers.
Gamertsfelder is a longtime member of Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Gahanna, where he has been organist, Sunday school teacher and a member of the church board.
He also was the first man to serve on the Nazarene missions board, and he spent 18 years on the General Council, the governing body of the Kansas City-based denomination.
He has been in the mission fields of Europe, Asia, South and Central America and the Caribbean. He has been especially busy in Haiti, making 20 trips there.
Though the years, Gamertsfelder’s "Mission of Site" program allowed him to collect used eyeglasses, taking several hundred pairs at a time on his trips for those who needed them.
Dr. Doug McCloy, an optometrist with offices in Marion and Westerville, took over the Mission of Site collecting from Gamertsfelder about two years ago.
McCloy, who lives in Marion and belongs to First Church of the Nazarene there, is leading a $500,000 fund-raising effort to build a medical clinic in Jamaica that will bear Gamertsfelder’s name. McCloy once had a practice in Jamaica and has done missionary work there.
Gamertsfelder taught him what Work and Witness is all about, he said.
"He is immaculately humble, and he’s an excessive servant," McCloy said of Gamertsfelder. "He’s abundantly compassionate. And he’s a true man of faith who puts his faith into action."
McCloy said the Jamaica clinic not only will help people but also will be an outlet for those who want to do mission work. He said it will be a fitting tribute to the man known as the father of Work and Witness.
"The amount of people that know or have been touched or impacted by the ministry is phenomenal," McCloy said.
June Cole attends Shepherd and is a friend of Gamertsfelder and his wife, Wanda. She said members look up to Gamertsfelder.
"He’s a very strong Christian, dedicated to the work he’s doing for the Lord," said Cole, who lives on the Northeast Side.
The Rev. Eddie Estep recently left Shepherd as pastor after six years to become the denomination’s district superintendent in South Carolina. He called Gamertsfelder a "giving individual, a man of integrity."
During the summer, Estep said, a group from Shepherd went on a mission trip to Madagascar, and Gamertsfelder came to the airport to see them off. He said he cherishes a photo of Gamertsfelder giving him a hug before they left.
"Here’s a guy that one day could be leading a team to any area of the world, and the next day would be mowing the lawn at Shepherd," Estep said.
Gamertsfelder has two children, Thomas of Pataskala and Adria Schumann, who lives in Illinois. He has been cutting back on his mission trips, but he admitted he still would like to take to the road occasionally.
"I love to help people. You know, needy people," Gamertsfelder said. "It’s just the compassion I have. It’s what missionary service is all about."
Missions have been life’s work for local optometrist
Friday, October 06, 2006
Dennis M . Mahoney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder
Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder knows well what it means to witness for one’s faith through work.
After all, he has been on at least 60 mission trips through the years, often using his experience as an optometrist to help others see more clearly.
"Just being on the job site, you’re a witness," Gamertsfelder said. "You’re there representing Christ. You’re showing them how you believe, what you believe."
The 78-year-old Northeast Side resident, who retired from his optometry practice 13 years ago, has been making mission trips for the Church of the Nazarene since 1973. He started the denomination’s "Men in Missions" program, which in 1984 became known as "Work and Witness."
Last year, 639 Work and Witness teams fanned out around the world; since its founding, the mission program has involved more than 150,000 volunteers.
Gamertsfelder is a longtime member of Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Gahanna, where he has been organist, Sunday school teacher and a member of the church board.
He also was the first man to serve on the Nazarene missions board, and he spent 18 years on the General Council, the governing body of the Kansas City-based denomination.
He has been in the mission fields of Europe, Asia, South and Central America and the Caribbean. He has been especially busy in Haiti, making 20 trips there.
Though the years, Gamertsfelder’s "Mission of Site" program allowed him to collect used eyeglasses, taking several hundred pairs at a time on his trips for those who needed them.
Dr. Doug McCloy, an optometrist with offices in Marion and Westerville, took over the Mission of Site collecting from Gamertsfelder about two years ago.
McCloy, who lives in Marion and belongs to First Church of the Nazarene there, is leading a $500,000 fund-raising effort to build a medical clinic in Jamaica that will bear Gamertsfelder’s name. McCloy once had a practice in Jamaica and has done missionary work there.
Gamertsfelder taught him what Work and Witness is all about, he said.
"He is immaculately humble, and he’s an excessive servant," McCloy said of Gamertsfelder. "He’s abundantly compassionate. And he’s a true man of faith who puts his faith into action."
McCloy said the Jamaica clinic not only will help people but also will be an outlet for those who want to do mission work. He said it will be a fitting tribute to the man known as the father of Work and Witness.
"The amount of people that know or have been touched or impacted by the ministry is phenomenal," McCloy said.
June Cole attends Shepherd and is a friend of Gamertsfelder and his wife, Wanda. She said members look up to Gamertsfelder.
"He’s a very strong Christian, dedicated to the work he’s doing for the Lord," said Cole, who lives on the Northeast Side.
The Rev. Eddie Estep recently left Shepherd as pastor after six years to become the denomination’s district superintendent in South Carolina. He called Gamertsfelder a "giving individual, a man of integrity."
During the summer, Estep said, a group from Shepherd went on a mission trip to Madagascar, and Gamertsfelder came to the airport to see them off. He said he cherishes a photo of Gamertsfelder giving him a hug before they left.
"Here’s a guy that one day could be leading a team to any area of the world, and the next day would be mowing the lawn at Shepherd," Estep said.
Gamertsfelder has two children, Thomas of Pataskala and Adria Schumann, who lives in Illinois. He has been cutting back on his mission trips, but he admitted he still would like to take to the road occasionally.
"I love to help people. You know, needy people," Gamertsfelder said. "It’s just the compassion I have. It’s what missionary service is all about."