'Get Mike Down' Pastor Lives on Rooftop for a Week
Correction appended A pastor spent an entire week living on the roof of a local business in New Mexico to raise funds for African orphans for Sunday's National Day of Care.
Dr. Mike Hattabaugh, founding pastor of Gathering Community Church in Farmington, N.M., lived outdoors this past week on the roof of Treadworks, a tire company, in New Mexico.
"It is hard to wrap your arms around 15 million orphans [in Africa]," said Hattabaugh, who is also director of the National Day of Care, to The Christian Post in an earlier interview. "That's bigger than a lot of states in the United States. That's like eight New Mexico's just full of orphans. It is just hard to grasp that."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"So I thought if I lived on a roof that is how people will get their arms wrapped around the idea," he explained. "It is a good connection. People ask why are you doing this and I use it to draw people's attention."
The third annual "Get Mike Down" fundraising campaign seeks to raise awareness of the millions of children who "need a roof over their heads," as well as to raise $60,000 in donations for three orphanages in three "severely challenged countries." A roof costs about $20,000, the campaign noted.
Orphanages to receive donations to build a roof are No More Tears Children's Home in Sierra Leone; Children's Hope Chest in Swaziland; and an orphanage in Sudan through Shaohannah's Hope, the ministry of Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman.
Chapman will perform a concert on Feb. 25 in Farmington, N.M., during which Hattabaugh will present a check for his ministry on stage.
The National Day of Care is an annual observance that encourages Americans to respond to the plight of orphans and those affected by AIDS in Africa, as well as victims of other humanitarian crises.
Among the campaign goals is the mobilization of churches in the United States to respond to humanitarian crises, especially AIDS which has left millions orphaned. In Africa, 200,000 people lose their lives to AIDS each month and more than 15 million children have become orphans due to the disease.
Churches – believed to be the largest network in the world – has the greatest ability and "strongest mandate" to solve the orphan and AIDS crisis in Africa, according to the National Day of Care Web site.
"All Americans are encouraged to participate in the National Day of Care, but churches are urged to lead the endeavor," National Day of Care organizers stated.
On the web: www.GetMikeDown.com
Correction: Tuesday, February 12, 2008:
An article on Sunday, February 10, 2008, about a New Mexico pastor living on a business rooftop for a week to raise money for orphans in Africa, incorrectly reported the name of the business taking part in the campaign. The Christian Post confirmed with the public relations company that handles National Day of Care that the business Mike Hattabaugh stayed on was Treadworks, and not Threadworks.
