The Cold Water Plunge

Take the Plunge that Refreshes Others. By Robert Lavala.

What began as a simple gesture towards a few friends quickly became a local viral challenge to a whole community. The Cold Water Plunge began when a local pastor, Scott Thompson from Mountain Springs Church in Bonners Ferry, was “called out” by a friend of his on Facebook April 12 of this year.

The challenge? Take a plunge in a body of cold natural water and give $10 to your favorite charity. Three friends were called out and Scott was one that took the plunge the next day, giving to his church as his charity. The other side of the challenge was that if you didn't participate, you would have to pay the original challenger $100 toward his or her charity. This quickly generated a rumor with people saying that Mountain Springs Church originated this “Fundraiser” for their building.

Prompted by this rumor, Pastor Garret from Mountain Springs Church cleared things up from the pulpit: “Mountain Springs Church rarely does 'fundraisers.’ And,” he continued, “if anything this should be considered a FUN raiser!”

With great excitement, Pastor Scott reported that over 250 people participated in this event over the course of several weeks. The challenge was and continues to be a plunge and give to your favorite charity. It could be a cancer research group, a missionary, a church or anything that does fulfilling work as a nonprofit charity. The whole premise of the plunge honors what the Bible says - “It is better to give than receive”.

Many ordinary folks took up the challenge and gave both physically, by plunging in forty-degree water, and financially by digging into their bank account for a good cause. Pastor Thompson said that money is still coming in from the plunge and now is well into the tens of thousands of dollars!

One local County Commissioner even went a step further by saying that he would donate one dollar for every second someone could stay in the water longer than he could. Sources tell me that this cost the Commissioner over two thousand dollars.

Another couple in the church made a similar gesture by matching funds of others who donated. Their generosity brought in nearly fifteen hundred dollars alone.

Overall this type of challenge is not new as many other cities have something similar. What is amazing is how organic the entire plunge became here in Bonners Ferry.

Pastor Scott enjoyed witnessing this first hand as he was driving out to the Refuge one day and looked down at the boat ramp at the river. There, he saw five people with towels and decided to stop and ask them what they were doing. They said they were doing the plunge for Mountain Springs Church. He replied simply, “You don't have to give to the church but to any great charity.” They replied, “We know” and then happily jumped in the river! As he shared this story, Pastor Scott was genuinely excited at what has happened within our community. Whether it was individuals, couples, clubs or entire families, they all took the challenge and gave their best.

So the next time someone challenges you to “Jump in the River” put your money where your towel is and get in with both feet!

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