Beach Reach returns to serve free pancakes and testimonies
Jake Brasdovich is served a plate of pancakes by Kelsi Clark at Rock 'It Lanes in Panama City Beach on Monday. .
Andrew Wardlow | The News Herald
By S. BRADY CALHOUN | The News Herald
Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 10:38 AM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Pancake batter sizzled on griddles at Rock’it Lanes in Panama City Beach on Monday morning as hundreds of spring breakers lined up for a free breakfast.
In the parking lot it was easy to spot spring breaker vehicles based on the messages written on their windows, offering fun times and phone numbers. It was just as easy to spot the vans being driven by the Beach Reach ministry.
“Life-saving free pancakes and van rides,” was written on one of those. There also was a phone number, 850-890-3949, for spring breakers to call to get a ride so they could get home safely if they were too drunk to drive.
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It’s all part of Beach Reach, an annual mission sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention that brings hundreds of Christian college students to Panama City Beach each March. Along with pancakes and van rides, Beach Reach students offer testimonies about the Gospel, said Alyson Brasier, 20, a Central Michigan University student.
“We are trying to inspire people to believe in God and Jesus and to just love on them,” she said.
The Baptists also send teams from Georgia Disaster Relief to cook the light, fluffy goodness each morning. Officials said they cook about 3,000 pancakes a day.
Andy Wheeler, a spring breaker from Western Michigan University, said he planned on spending the week having a few drinks and enjoying the sunshine. He added he was grateful for the pancakes and the hospitality provided by the Beach Reach students.
Those pancakes are “very crucial to our health,” Wheeler said. “It soaks up a lot of stuff. It gets you going.”
Coordinator Bill Noe said the mission brought 290 students to the beach this week and is bringing 480 students next week. Noe started coming to Beach Reach about 15 years ago first as a student, then as a leader and now as the coordinator. He said serving others, whether through free food or rides, is one of the best ways to reach out to spring breakers.
Sometimes before they can share their faith, the group gets questions from the breakers, such as: “Why in the world are you down here doing this?” Noe said.
He added that a lot of spring breakers don’t find what they are looking for in a week of parties.
“A lot of people come down here expecting the best week of their lives and they have a lot of fun but maybe it wasn’t everything they hoped it would be and they see us having fun in a different way and they are really intrigued by that,” Noe said.
IF YOU GO
- Who: Beach Reach
- What: Free pancakes
- When: Monday-Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. during March
- Where: Rock’it Lanes, 513 Richard Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach
- Also: For Beach Reach van rides, Sunday-Thursday, call 850-890-3949.