Pastor David Hibbison, of Clearwater, took a leap of faith and ‘faced the fear’ July 9 when he and his son, Josh, jumped out of a plane to raise money for his ministry, New Life in Christ.

 

‘Face the Fear’ came into being when Hibbison realized his summer schedule was too busy for him to find time for his usual three-day ‘Pastor on the Roof’ fundraiser. When he brought up the idea of skydiving instea, the ministry’s board members agreed to let him go with it.

 

’Face the Fear’ came from the fear guys and gals have coming out of prison,” Hibbison explained. “They’re fearful of all the unknowns; jobs, homes, food, clothing and being accepted back into society.”

 

New Life in Christ Ministry helps with finding employment and providing food, clothes and acceptance upon the initial re-entry from incarceration and treatment. 

 

“Those fears are then calmed by facing the future with faith in God,” said Hibbison.

 

He and his son skydived together for the first time two years ago; Hibbison said the highlight of both jumps was the two of them doing the trips together.

 

Their jump was done in tandem, which is when a student skydiver is connected to a harness attached to an instructor. Hibbison and his son are six feet, three inches tall; their instructors were just a little over five feet. Hibbison’s was a former navy seal.

 

“When you first jump you free fall for about 35 seconds, it’s amazing,” explained Hibbison. “It takes about 10 minutes, so you have nine and a half minutes of floating. It’s perfectly quiet. It’s so peaceful, I really enjoyed that part.”

 

The fundraiser was their most successful one to date, raising over $7,000 from personal donations. Pledges were suggested at one to five cents per foot of the jump. Several donors told Hibbison they might want to jump with him next year, which would expand the effort even more.

 

“It’s so much fun doing it for the ministry as a fundraiser,” he said. “It kind of took off the edge, because this time I was going up for a good cause.”

 

To watch Hibbison’s jump, go to skydivetwincitieswest.smugmug.com/Videos/David-Hibbison.

 

To learn more about New Life in Christ Ministry or to make a donation, visit newlifeinchristre-entry.org.