Staff
Rev Ruth LawsonExecutive Director
I grew up with loving and secure family of mom, dad, brother, and sister. My father was a minister who started churches, and life was lived “Only That Which Is Eternal Shall Last.” We always had extra people living in our home – loving and ministry were as natural as breathing. I had no idea, until I moved out into the “real world,” that my life was not the norm – no harshness or abuse.We lived in Ashland, Allen, and Wheelwright, Kentucky; Sarasota, Florida; and Lincoln Park, Michigan.At age eleven, I began playing piano/organ in Church and began playing piano for a Spanish Mission in a condemned building in Detroit at the age of 13. At age sixteen, I read “The Cross and the Switchblade” and knew someday, the Lord would have me in the ministry of CAM.With my husband of 42 years, Bob Lawson, we have lived in Jefferson City, Tennessee; McCook, Nebraska; Sullivan and Jeffersonville, Indiana before moving to Kokomo, Indiana. We have adopted three sons – Steve, Dakota, and Kyle. We have helped raise 24 kids (mostly teenagers). September 09, our newest addition to the family is Wes, a seventeen-year old, who lives with us on weekends and with the youth ministers of another church in our community during the week.
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I began college at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee and finish at the University of Louisville, School of Music, in Kentucky. Graduate classes have been from Indiana State in Terre Haute, IN; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville; and Membership Certification in TA. Beginning 1975, I have been Minister of Music and Youth at First Baptist Jeffersonville, Indiana; Minister of Music, Youth, and Christian Education at First Baptist Kokomo; and Organist at Market Street Methodist Church in Logansport, Indiana. Since 1991, Bob and I are Co-Pastors of Liberty Baptist Church, in Groomsville, Indiana.In 1976, I helped found the Ministerial Jail Visitation Committee in Jeffersonville, Indiana; 1984, the MUFF – Ministerial Utility Fuel Fund in Howard County; and in May 1993, began CAM – Coordinated Assistance Ministries, Inc. My ordination is with American Baptist Churches USA, and my memberships are in the Howard County Ministerial Association, on the Board of Mustard Seed in Tipton, Morning Musicale and Altrusa.Luke 12:48b says “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” The privilege and blessing of working at CAM is a wonderful gift from God, and my personal scripture verse is found in John 10:10 – “I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This is my prayer for all who pass through and serve at CAM. |
Pastor Kathy EsslingerSupervisor CAM, Inc. | S P A C E R |
CAM gives me a beautiful opportunity to help rebuild fallen lives, and to help with the homeless issues in our community. CAM, Inc. (Coordinated Assistance Ministries, Inc.) is a marvelous organization, and I am blessed to be a part of it. |
Gwen MeltonCAM Representative Payee Bookkeeper
I attended Indiana Wesleyan University where I received an associates degree in business. I didn’t start school until I was 33 years old. I had never dreamed that I would be able to continue my education, but God knew. He had plans for me. I had never even heard of CAM at that point in my life, but God was preparing me then for the service I do today. I am very thankful
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| S P A C E R | I never thought I would find a job so rewarding. It has always been my heart’s desire to have a job where I could “help people.” I never knew how I was going to accomplish that, but God found a way. I like to work with numbers, and I didn’t think there was a job out there where I could help people and work with numbers."Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.' Matthew 25:37-40CAM offers me the opportunity to serve others while working with numbers. I work with clients that Social Security had determined that they need help with their money. Social Security sends us their checks and we use this money to pay their rent, utilities, and other bills, then give them the remainder of their funds to buy things for their daily needs. |
