Now as you consider supporting us at the fundraiser, I also wanted to give you a sneak peek at what we are planning for our High School Summer Mission Trip 2025.  Over the past two years, we have gone on “Community Live-In” trips, that have had a service element to them but centered around living, serving, and having fun as we build community together. This mission trip will be solely focused on service. 

When it comes to short-term missions, I try to be very cautious about what we plan to do.  Historically, short-term mission trips have the stigma of being a “flash in the pan” and provide little sustainable help to those being served. I’m speaking very loosely and not pointing to any specific trip but speaking about short-term missions in general in our country. But this is why I am intent on only doing short-term missions where we are partnering with long-standing ministries and going as a support or aid to learn from and serve alongside those that are doing it well.

With this in mind, I thought back to a mission trip I had planned with my former church back in 2020 that was cancelled due to COVID. We had planned to serve the ministries of KICY Christian Radio station in Nome, Alaska, which is the only radio station ministry owned and operated by the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination and is partnered with our sister church, Nome Covenant Church. I met the radio station director, Patty Burchell, the year before, and we had worked on this plan to bring a small group of students and adult leaders to come during their summer months to volunteer for a week doing work projects for the radio station.

You see, the radio station is completely funded by donations, with several of the staff and interns even fundraising for themselves to serve there each year. And with such a technology-reliant ministry, much of their budget goes to maintain broadcasting equipment and obtain licenses for their music and radio shows.  So when maintenance on their facilities that endure harsh and cold winter weather conditions is needed, they rely on volunteer groups like ours that can come over the course of the few warmer months of May through July (and by warm, I mean a high of 55-60 degrees!).

After my plans for this trip were cancelled with our last group, I stayed in touch with Patty Burchell, and we’ve long discussed the possibility of me organizing another group to go. Which is why I believe that it might now be the time!

One of the primary challenges they have with bringing in volunteer groups is that they have limited space for housing. Because we are still a relatively small High School group (as we’ve only brough 6-7 students on our CLI summer trips the past few years), I also figured this may be our chance to go and support KICY before our youth group grows too large to do this trip.

While there is much more to prepare for, our plan is to bring a group of 7-8 students on this trip from July 2 – 9, 2025. The dates and timing may adjust based on the cheapest flights available for our group though. For leaders, I will lead the trip alongside Beth Simpson, one of our youth leaders who helped led our CLI trip last summer, and Victor Quesada, who will go to support our team with the work project management.   

Even though “community building” will still be a valuable part of this trip, service will be our focus. Because of this, we want to ensure that our team is fully prepared and equipped to be able to serve well. This means that we are being a little more intentional with the team we are putting together, requiring that they participate in the youth ministry over the rest of this school year and that they participate in all the fundraising efforts, as we will need a good amount of support to make this trip work. Because of this, students who were not at the informational meeting last week will need to come and speak with me if they’re interested in attending.

For now, we hope you will join us in prayer in the months to come as this trip comes together.  Pray for the students that are making this decision and for their fundraising efforts to be successful.  Pray for our leaders.  Pray that we are able to achieve our fundraising goals.  And pray for KICY Radio Station and the ministry they are doing!

We look forward to sharing more about the trip as it comes together.  But for now, please consider joining us at the Soup Luncheon Fundraiser on November 24 after worship.  Thank you!

-- Chuck Potts

Pastor of Young Adults