Theo Avgerinos was a senior in college when he decided to join his old youth group from New Canaan, Connecticut for a mission trip to the Mississippi Delta.
The film student brought his camera to document the journey to Indianola-based Delta Missions.
Avgerinos never did shake the inspiration he felt from Delta Missions founder Rev. Herron Wilson, and years later, he returned to the Delta for a film project that would eventually become Rising Hope, an award-winning documentary that shines the light on three faith-based missions in the region, Delta Missions included.
“I was pretty intrigued and inspired by his persona and his heartfelt commitment to his community,” Avgerinos told The Enterprise-Tocsin in an interview this week about Wilson. “He is just charismatic and a sincere individual.”
A segment of the documentary will be front and center during the Delta Missions Ministry fundraiser on September 12 at 6 p.m. at the B.B. King Museum.
The reception is a celebration of Delta Missions’ 30 years of service to the youth, young adults and seniors in the community.
“We thought that it would be a good thing for us to host an event where supporters of Delta Missions can come and have a chance to see some of the work that we have done over the past 30 years,” Wilson told The E-T this week.
The event will feature a PowerPoint presentation with photos from the last 30 years, followed by the sneak peek of the documentary.
Food will be provided, at no charge to Delta Missions, by multiple area restaurants.
Wilson founded Delta Missions 30 years ago, originally as a Vacation Bible School event designed to reach the youth in the Southgate community in Indianola.
Delta Missions now hosts VBS in Inverness, Sunflower, Shaw and Indianola.
The Johnson Street mission also hosts 30 to 35 seniors every Wednesday for bingo and Bible lessons, youth on Saturdays for Bible lessons and recreation, as well as a men’s discipleship group.
Wilson’s organization has also spearheaded the communitywide Thanksgiving service, a Christmas adoption project and has a clothes closet where clothing is given to those in need.
“Delta Missions is a ministry that is relatable, and it reaches people where they are,” Wilson said. “It addresses both needs and issues people are dealing with, and because it is relatable, I think people connect to Delta Missions in a rather easy way.”
Sherby Hale joined Delta Missions over 10 years ago as a volunteer teacher. She now serves as secretary for the mission. During her time there, she said she has watched many of the community’s youth come to know Christ through the work of the team.
“I’ve seen the children grow up, mature, and I’ve also seen that for many of the children, this is their foundation for Christ,” Hale said. “Here at Delta Missions, they get what they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else.”
At 30, Wilson and those who work closely with Delta Missions are looking to create a sustainable pathway to another 30 years of service in the community.
That will have to come from continued and new support from those that surround the mission.
“Delta Missions would not have been on the corner for so many years had it not been for the support of the community,” Wilson said. “All of our support comes from churches, individuals and civic groups. The community has undergirded Delta Missions for 30 years, and without the community’s support, we would have had to close the doors years ago.”
Wilson said that many individuals who supported Delta Missions in its infancy three decades ago have moved away or passed away.
Hale said that it is imperative that the organization reach a new generation of supporters.
“They need to be made aware so that they can be more engaged,” she said.
They are hoping to accomplish that on a local level with the reception in September, and they are hoping that there will be a national and global awareness after the documentary film makes its way to more theaters in the coming months.
“It will paint an encouraging picture of the Delta,” Wilson said of the film. “The harsh truth is that we have had some issues that we have had to overcome and deal with, but this documentary doesn’t leave you stuck with the obstacles and hardships. It goes a step further and shows the progress that’s being made and the changes made through various ministries.”
Hale said hope is definitely the theme of the film.
“Many times, people have an idea about the Delta, that there is no hope, and when you look at the film, you will see that in various sections of the Mississippi Delta, there is still hope. There is light, and Delta Missions is a part of that,” she said.
Avgerinos aims to tell the stories of hope that are not always told inside and outside of the region.
“It was kind of the word that we opened and closed these long conversations with,” Avgerinos said. “It’s their stories of hope. They are extraordinary and powerful. It’s a word that a lot of folks use, but this was a critical examination of what hope means in their words.”
Avgerinos will be screening his film throughout the country, but he hopes it will spur a recommitment to Delta Missions locally.
“I hope they see that the long-term commitment to work like Herron is doing is critical,” he said. “The lifelong commitment to kids growing up in the community is not short-term, and there is value in changing one kid’s life.”
Tickets for the Sept. 12 reception may be purchased at Baird & Stallings at 111 Martin Luther King Drive, First Methodist Church at 205 Second Street and at Delta Missions Ministry at 409 Johnson Street.
