Ģ����Ƶ

I drive a lot of highway miles, and here’s what I’ve learned: avoid gas station bathrooms. They are often… well-used…and not always well-kept.

In a Christmas sermon in his Indianapolis church, my son Luke told of traveling with their four boys (above)—ages 8, 6, 5, and 1: “We’ll soon be driving 500 miles west to our families, and taking a baby into a gas station bathroom is gross. They’re always kinda moist, like someone just hosed off their Great Dane in there. They’re sticky, smelly, messy. I’ve got this precious baby in my arms, wishing I had a Hazmat suit.”

“But,” he said, “there’s a beautiful thing about four boys on a road trip. When someone needs to go, you don’t have to stop at a nasty gas station bathroom. The world is our urinal. My boys have watered every ditch between here and Kansas.” His point: He wanted to shield his baby boy from the nasty mess, but at Christmas, God sent his baby boy right into the mess.

A good illustration, but here’s the rest of the story. Last week, Luke was tramping the woods with his boys. (He calls them The Wolfpack because they’re tight-knit, full of energy, and slightly feral.) He shared this exchange (below) in our family text thread. I laughed out loud!

And then I thought three things:

· “At least they were listening to the sermon.”
· “I love these boys—they’re hilarious!”
· “These boys are why I avoid gas station bathrooms.”

If there’s a scale for bathroom quality, the bottom end is gas stations, and I’m going to ask you to help Ozark avoid gas station bathrooms.

But the top end of the scale is guest bathrooms. Growing up with brothers, the “boys’ bathroom” was in the basement of our house. It was always clean and functional, but it wasn’t fancy. (With three boys, it actually wasn’t always clean either.)

The main floor bath, on the other hand, was designated for guests. My mom kept that restroom pristine, and it was beautifully decorated—frilly hand towels, fancy little soaps, soft rugs, extra-ply toilet paper, and the faint smell of potpourri. If heaven has bathrooms, this is what they look like.

My brothers and I understood our job: keep that restroom radiant. Why such a lovely lavatory, such fantastic facilities in our farmhouse? Simple: this was how our family honored guests. We wanted to treat visitors with warmth, respect, and care. We kept the guest bathroom nice as an act of hospitality.

That’s the scale for quality—gas station bathrooms at the bottom, guest bathrooms at the top. (The one exception is Buc-ee’s, a gas station that became wildly successful because they turned their restrooms into guest bathrooms! See also: amazing brisket.)

We’re not going to go full Buc-ee’s, with barbecue and a bakery by our bathrooms. But I do need your help to prepare Ozark’s restrooms for guests. Keep reading…

The two sets of OCC restrooms most used by guests are the Multi-Purpose Building (MPB) bathrooms. As our largest venue, the MPB’s two men’s and two women’s bathrooms get used a LOT. Last year, we…

· Welcomed 1,000 high schoolers for The Event.
· Welcomed over 1,000 middle schoolers for Getaway.
· Hosted 1,000 young people for CIY Move, Creative Arts Academy, the National Bible Bowl Tournament, and sports camps.
· Packed the MPB with 1,500 people for the Ģ����Ƶ and Lincoln Seminary Commencement.

That’s why I need your help. Our MPB bathrooms are worn out.

The verses on hospitality are many: “Offer hospitality to one another.” (1 Pet 4:8) “Practice hospitality.”

(Rom 12:13) “Do not neglect to show hospitality.” (Heb 13:2) When Phoebe carried the letter of Romans 700 miles to Rome, Paul said, “Welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints.” (Rom 16:2)

Last month, we had over 1,000 people at our Preaching-Teaching Convention—a great week! We got to welcome the old faithfuls, and younger folks are now attending, more church staffs come, and more non-Ozark alums.

These leaders love the preaching, worship, and connection. (One told me with tears, “Ozark feels like [his alma mater] back in the 90s, when we had our best days.”) We want to give these servants a time of refreshing—to welcome them “in a way worthy of the saints.” We want to avoid a gas station experience.

They aren’t gas-station-bad yet. Our custodial team does a great job keeping them clean and functional. But it’s been a quarter century since any update, and the facilities are old and well-used—not “guest bathroom” quality.

So, in preparation for summer 2026, we’re renovating these restrooms top to bottom—new fixtures, new flooring, new paint, the works—and making them more accessible to people with disabilities. The cost for this renovation is approximately $75,000. Your gift to the OCC general fund will ready these bathrooms for our next big batch of guests.

Why do we want OCC’s campus to be such a welcoming place? Because we’ve seen what happens for guests here at our events:

· Tired ministers feel spiritual adrenaline surging through their weary souls.
· Church staffs bond as they learn new ministry tools to serve their congregation.
· Old friendships renew and new friendships form as Christian brothers and sisters connect.
· High schoolers learn to use their gifts and answer God’s call to ministry.

In just a few years, my grandsons—The Wolfpack—will start showing up for Getaway. (By then, I’m confident they’ll use our bathrooms appropriately.) I want them—like thousands of other middle schoolers—to encounter Jesus here and be challenged to live for him.

Yours in Christ, 
Matt Proctor

P.S. It’s not too soon to reserve February 15-17, 2027, for our Preaching-Teaching Convention—with special guests Dave Stone, Gene Appel, Jodi Hickerson, and the Watoto African Children’s Choir. (And if you’re driving in on I-44, you can stop at the Springfield Buc-ee’s for brisket!)

Your gift is a sacred trust. We promise to honor your generosity by using your gift in the most effective way to train men and women for Christian service. The project described here reflects OCC’s ministry needs at the time of writing. Your gift will go to the general fund to be used where it is needed most when received to prepare students to take the gospel to the world.