ST. PETERSBURG — Members of McCabe United Methodist Church here were all set to participate in the St. Petersburg District’s Celebrate Jesus Mission last June. They had paid the registration fee and started making plans, but they never got to complete their mission because the volunteer team they needed didn’t come through.

The African-American congregation wanted a predominantly African-American team, said Alan Poole, executive director of Celebrate Jesus Missions. While the ministry tried to fill the church’s request, only a few African-Americans volunteered.

"We didn’t have anyone to apply for the mission except the team leader and pastor," Poole said. "We didn’t want to put an all-white team in there. It was purely because we didn’t get all the people we needed."

Several last-minute phone calls located a few volunteers, but because the team was too small and not everyone could commit for the entire week, the mission could not be included as a Celebrate Jesus mission.

A lack of ethnic minorities volunteering for the missions is a challenge Celebrate Jesus is working to address. In addition to canceling the mission at McCabe, Poole said he had to reject the Miami District’s application for a mission in 2001 because "we don’t have enough Spanish-speaking people."

"Until we build up minority support, we will always have that problem," he said.

Poole said Celebrate Jesus has been more intentional about inviting African-American and Hispanic pastors to serve on teams, so they will experience a mission and encourage members of their congregations and friends to participate. Word of mouth, he said, is the ministry’s best recruiting tool.

Having three influential African-American pastors, the Revs. Kevin James, Walter Monroe and Calvin McFadden, involved in this year’s mission should help, Poole said, adding he is seeking similar leadership from Florida’s Hispanic population.

Although Celebrate Jesus has been active in the conference for three years, leaders are still learning how to best accomplish its evangelistic mission in Florida, Poole said. In addition to the lack of ethnic involvement, not enough people volunteered for this year’s mission in the DeLand District because it was held too early in June.

Next year’s missions will be held later, Poole said. One in Leesburg is scheduled for June 23-30, and another in West Palm Beach is Aug. 4-11. Poole also said he is looking for volunteers to work on mission teams in London, England, and at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, later this year.