Creative Career Ministry

Fifty-seven years working for one ministry deserves to be honored. Word of Life is now eighty-five years old, and Rick Brooks has been serving on staff for fifty-seven of those years. That is a dedicated record.

When Rick began his ministry with Word of Life they were just expanding into the west from their base in Schroon Lake, New York. He took on the responsibility of training a team to serve in the Rocky Mountain states and stayed with that project for twenty years. As the ministry expanded overseas, he served in England for three years, training a team to do that work. Word of Life now operates in eighty-eight countries.

Next, the ministry asked him to become the assistant to the Overseas Director
. In that role he became a missionary to missionaries. He helps missionaries raise funds for building projects, recruits doctors and dentists for healthcare trips, and provides encouragement and care for those who serve the Lord around the world. This has been a ministry for both Rick and his wife Vi. They recently celebrated fifty-eight years of marriage which means that ministry with Word of Life has occupied their entire married life. What a blessing.

Rick just turned eighty and is still going strong. He writes, “You know, it’s kinda funny being the same age as Old People!” Longevity and faithfulness in ministry are creative. Congratulations Rick.