"A Lasting Legacy" is how members of the Gore First Baptist Church refer to the Baptist Builders, their families and the volunteers who arrived recently to help complete the church.

Church members reported the builders are retired men who have given themselves to help build churches.

At the Gore church, the 14 men, their wives and local volunteers made up a crew of about 35 people. They installed steel stud partitions for classrooms, offices, restrooms, stairs and a sanctuary in the 10,000-square-foot building.

The couples take on the projects at their own expense, live in their own campers, bring their own tools and equipment, and stay for a week. Sometimes those who live within driving distance return for a few days of additional work. Several of the Baptist Builders come from the Muskogee area and others come from Eufaula, Carnegie, Bethany, Savanna, Checotah, Fort Gibson, Hugo and Hodgin.

"It is near miraculous what these men accomplish in a week," a church member said. "This is what you call faith in action, going the second mile. This really is missions.

"This is a group that will leave evidence all over this state for years and years affecting lives and souls," the spokesman said.