Media Press Release for 2004

This Press Release is available to the News media and the general public.
It contains the who, what, and why about The Merritt Ministry.

Press Release

Evangelism On The Rise…Taking evangelism to new heights, The Merritt Ministry from Tracy, California uses hot air balloons to tell the gospel of Jesus. Using two special shaped hot air balloons, ARKY, The Hot Air Balloon and JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon, the messages that God Keeps His Promises and that Jesus Christ is King of kings, Lord of lords are flown high above for all to see.

JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon stands an impressive 110 feet tall by 100 feet wide and is 65 feet in depth. The total volume of the envelope (fabric portion) is 258,000 cubic feet of air. The hands are 20 feet from the wrist to fingertip. The head is 30 feet tall. Each of the 12 international children which surround Jesus is 15 feet tall. The balloon envelope weighs in at over 775 pounds. The envelope attaches to The Balloon Works trademark triangular-shaped basket with a double propane burner fuel system. With a useable lift of 3,600 pounds, the JESUS balloon can carry the pilot and 5 adults in comfort.

From the very conception of the project a major concern was how to do justice to creating a hot air balloon in the likeness of Jesus. So, how do you create a hot air balloon that is both authentic and reverent in its mission of creating Jesus, the Son of God? "It made for some hard decisions," says Sid Conn of The Balloon Works, which manufactured the balloon. "What color were His eyes? How long should we make His hair? Should the scars on His hands be included? How can we make the clouds so that they look powerful and not like they are lifted from a cartoon?" It took many meetings, many conversations, and hundreds of conceptual drawings before the design was finalized. Reverence for the subject of the project was maintained at all times, which proved challenging at times. "Is it wrong to drag the face along the floor when moving the balloon from sewing station to sewing station?" the question was posed by Sid Conn. So, care was made at all stages of the project.

The design of the balloon, Jesus coming out of the clouds in all power and majesty as is presented in the book of Revelation was combined with the glory, compassion and love of the resurrected Jesus. Surrounding JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon are twelve international children holding hands. Jesus Himself said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3) On the back of JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon in His majestic, purple robe, trimmed in gold, are the words, "King of kings, lord of lords." On the underneath side of the clouds of the balloon is printed the words, "Jesus Christ: Who is and Who was and Who is to come. Rev. 1:4"

After hundreds of hours of computer-aided design, using 4 different computer programs, the patterns for 2,700 separate fabric panels were loaded into the cutting machine. Cutting the fabric took more than 5 weeks. As soon as one section was cut, the sewing machine operators began the assembly: 2 hands, 2 arms, face, neck, head, front body, back body, clouds, and 12 children. It took another 13 weeks to complete the sewing. New technology and many new innovations were used in constructing the balloon. One year after discussion began on building JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon, the balloon was completed and FAA certified. The date was October 22, 1998.

Even before its completion, JESUS, The Hot Air Balloon has drawn crowds of people. It caused traffic delays at the obscure testing field outside of Statesville, North Carolina where the hot air was being built. On one test flight, which took the balloon over the interstate, Sid Conn noticed at least 50 cars pulled over to the side of the road, car horns honking to sound their approval. Sid Conn and his crew even noticed that some of the people were praying with tears streaming down their cheeks.

ARKY, The Hot Air Balloon is a whimsical re-creation of Noah’s Ark. With a rainbow arched over it’s top. ARKY, The Hot Air Balloon spreads the message that "God Keeps His Promises." As well, it retells the Old Testament story which points us to the ultimate savior of humankind: Jesus the Son of God. With over 1,700 individual pieces, ARKY is a technologically complex balloon. With a passenger list of 28 animals, from Anonymous Hippopotamus to Zuba Zebra, ARKY is always a crowd pleaser. ARKY, The Hot Air Balloon stands 85 feet high, 100 feet long and 55 feet wide. It has an air capacity of 131,000 cubic feet of air. Unlike the original Noah’s Ark, ARKY holds only two "human" passengers and its pilot.

"These balloons easily draw the attention of large crowds of people and we will be able to present the gospel of Jesus to them," says Merritt Ministry co-founder Robert Schaible. The Merritt Ministry, founded by Robert and Karen Schaible in October 1997, "is dedicated to the glory of our Lord, Jesus." "As awesome as The JESUS Balloon is when it ascends into the sky, we tell people it is nothing compared to the actual appearance of Jesus when He returns upon the clouds of Heaven."

The Merritt Ministry is a non-profit, non-denominational ministry whose mission statement is: "To glorify, magnify, and exemplify the love of Christ Jesus through visual means (hot and cold air inflatables) as well as through philanthropic and ministry outreaches. To utilize these visual means (JESUS and ARKY, The Hot Air Balloons) as tools for evangelism to enlarge the Kingdom of Christ." The Merritt Ministry is comprised of all volunteers. The Ministry currently has three pilots that volunteer their time and talents to flying the balloons at events around the country. The Merritt Ministry presently relies to transport the balloons to the events.

The Merritt Ministry is expanding its efforts in the year 2000 by reaching out to others who are interested in "short term" and "long term" missions commitments. The Merritt Ministry functions as the "sending organization" of the balloons (much like a missions organization "sends" its missionaries onto their field). The funding for The Merritt Ministry operating expenses is obtained by support donations and through the distribution of memorabilia. Start-up funds and funds for the construction and purchase of the balloons were underwritten by a contributing donor.

The Merritt Ministry traveled to 8 events around the country in 2003, logging 24,000 miles. The Merritt Ministry will travel nationally and internationally (Canada) in the year 2004. The schedule for the year 2004 is being finalized and updates to that schedule can be obtained by contacting the ministry or by logging onto The Merritt Ministry website at: www.merrittministry.org.