England Mission Trip

I am so excited to go to England on a mission trip this summer!

But, I'm also kind of nervous . . . I've never been so far from home before.

There's a group of 3 students from my campus, Mandarin, going along with our student minister, Clayton. We are joining 16 other students and leaders from other campuses as we head to York.

So far, we know that we will be working in local schools in the mornings and doing some other community outreach programs in the afternoons.

I am so looking forward to talking to the teens we meet and learning about what it is like to live there. I want to hear what they see going on around them and I want them to be excited about how God is moving.

We will be coming alongside the UK-USA ministries, based out of York. This is a smaller city in the north region of England and is rich in history and old architecture.

So obviously I will not like it there . . . JUST KIDDING!

I absolutely love all things to do with history, especially old architecture and quaint cities. We really don't get much of that here.

However, the ministry we are working with has told us that only 3-6% of the population in England actively and openly professes Jesus and follows Him. Many people, especially the youth, see the church as small pieces of history, not a growing movement to show the love of Christ.

This reflects heavily on the church size there as many churches, at least in York, have only 25-200 people in their congregation. UK-USA Ministries is working hard to grow this and plant new churches. They want to remind people that the love of God is present and is always with them.

I would really like to emphasize the importance of prayer in any decision or faith walk in general. So, I would greatly encourage all of us to be praying about the city of York and UK-USA Ministries as they continue to advance the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Many times, people say "the ends of the earth" and forget that this includes their neighbors, the people they see everyday, and the family they know and love. Not just some far-off, third world country. I want to make sure that we remember this as we go throughout this next week. In order to advance the Gospel, we need to be able and willing to talk about it to the people around us.

This is exactly what UK-USA Ministries wants to show to the people of their community! I am really looking forward to this trip and would love your support in prayer to protect me and my group from anything the enemy tries to throw at us.

If you feel called to donate (which I would really appreciate), please go look at the Mission Trip tab on the banner at the top of the site. Visit My Fundraising Page or look up my Venmo account @agrace0331

Thank you! I'm going to try to post one blog a week so be checking back here for new updates and insights into my life on mission!!