How one red paperclip turns into a Lincoln Town Car

By Thom Thornton, BCM/D missionary for adult and collegiate evangelism

One of the great joys of this job is seeing the innovative solutions our collegiate ministry staff develops to address the questions posed to them. Each year, our staff and students raise over $20,000 to support students serving on missions across the globe and they are always faced with the quandry of how to raise that money. 

Inspired by the story of a man in Canada who traded a red paperclip for a house, K’Lynne McKinley and Sarah Rushing, campus ministers for the Eastern Shore, gave each of their students a red paperclip and challenged them to trade it for something of greater value. On April 29, the new items would be auctioned off, with all of the proceeds going to missions.

I was so impressed with this idea that I decided to join in. I grabbed a paperclip from my desk and began sharing the story with others at the Baptist Mission Resource Center. I was able to trade the paperclip for a pen, the pen for a stapler, the stapler for a space heater and the space heater for a leather Apple attaché bag.

That Wednesday night, I took the bag to Burtonsville Church where I serve as the interim pastor and shared the story with them. After several interesting offers, I traded the bag for a five-disc CD player/stereo, donated by a great young newlywed couple with more stereos than space. 

Here is where the story gets really interesting. I was visiting with a friend in Baltimore and sharing the story with him. I told him about the stereo and he was somewhat interested. He then relayed to me the story of his parents. He told me how they had been lifelong supporters of missions work all over the world and how their car, one of the last tangible reminders of them after they passed away, might be used in their memory to continue to share Christ around the world. After praying over the decision with his wife and family, he traded me their 1996 Lincoln Town Car for the five-disc CD player.

The money from the auctioning of the car will go towards assisting students from across Maryland and Delaware share Christ in our cities, our state, our country and the world. This fall, I’ll keep you updated on some of the amazing things God did through these students. How amazing to know that it all started from a red paperclip, the generosity of others, and the honor of lives passed, but STILL reaching Christ through their support of missions. God truly does own the cattle on a thousand hilltops – and even a few Lincoln Town Cars.