At the beginning of June, 6 people from RCC went on a mission trip to Knoxville, TN through Next Step Ministries. Spencer and Skylar Poe, Kinsey Jordan, Jean and Dee Sherer, and I spent a week doing work at a Christian Camp near Knoxville, Camp Bayoca. The camp itself was an incredible place to be. They had so many activities for the campers to do. Camp Bayoca opened in 1952 as a camp geared towards the inner city of Knoxville. Since then, they’ve expanded more and more and now impact hundreds of students each year, all in the name of Christ. Their impact through evangelism and outreach has been incredible and looks to continue. God has blessed them abundantly over the years as they seek His will in helping more and more kids find Jesus.
When we got there, Carter, the camp director, took us back to their paintball field. Over a year ago, their supply shed was crushed by a tree and they had been unable to build a new one, between a lack of staff and a lack of time. So that was our task for the week: build a new shed. They had all the supplies and equipment we needed. It just took some work. Our entire crew was 10 people. The 6 of us from RCC as well as 4 others from a church in Liberty Center, Ohio, which is just about an hour north of Lima. Their crew included a male adult and 3 high school boys. It was great working with them over the course of the week. We had some fun and got to know each other pretty well.
We were able to work on the shed for 3 days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Tuesday, we cleared away the old shed and prepared the foundation. We also worked on a plan for the rest of the week as to how to complete this project. We decided that on Wednesday, we would work exclusively in the shop there at camp putting together the walls and trusses for the roof, and that went pretty well on Wednesday. Dee was a real blessing given his experience in carpentry. It was cool watching Spencer, Skylar, and Kinsey learn how to use hammers, drills, and other tools we needed as we put together all the parts of the shed. Come Thursday, it was assembly time. We loaded up all the walls and trusses onto a trailer, hitched it to Carter’s truck, and Carter drove it back to the paintball field. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to complete assembly on Thursday, but we made great progress on it. While we were discouraged when we had to leave for the day, I was surprised, and pleased, to hear from the Next Step staff that they expected that to be a 2-3 week project. I’d say we got about 75-80% of it done in those 3 days.
While I wish we could have finished the project, I am proud of our group for what we did get done. It was hard work, and things didn’t always go as we expected them to. More than once, we had to correct something that we didn’t measure right or hammer correctly. But through it all, we were able to be a blessing to a camp that is doing God’s work in the Knoxville Area, and that was why we went.
Besides the work project, we also had worship and church time each night. All of the groups would meet back at the church where we were staying, Colonial Heights United Methodist Church. We would have dinner then meet in the sanctuary for worship, a video, and a message from a staff member. We’d then meet in our church groups to discuss the message as well as the events of the day. Each night was a different topic, but the theme of the week was “Strive.” It was all about living for God when we got back home. We had some great conversations those nights, but I’d like to point out what we discussed on Thursday night. We were talking about what we can do when we get back home to invest in our relationship with Jesus more. All 3 of the students, Kinsey, Skylar, and Spencer, expressed a desire to learn the Bible more, which is music to this youth pastor’s ears. Kinsey and Skylar, however, expressed a desire to also be baptized, which is like an orchestra to this youth pastor’s ears. I’ve seen how each of them has grown closer to Jesus in the past several months and it was awesome to hear that they were ready to make that commitment to Jesus through baptism. Those baptisms are taking place Sunday, June 29th, and I’m very excited about it!
One thing I knew I wanted to do when I got here back in 2018 was to establish a culture of youth group mission trips. Not only because they are great ways for students to serve others, but also because of the immense impact they can have on anyone’s spiritual life. There’s something about getting out of the normal rhythm of life and having your main focus for a week be serving and worshiping. I’ve been on many mission trips myself and I can tell you it’s an experience that changes you more than you expect. God works in amazing ways on mission trips, not only for those being served, but for those doing the serving. I hope you will celebrate with me for God doing an amazing work in the hearts of Skylar and Kinsey, and help them as they begin a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:7 (NIV)
Love You
Marty
