Mission trips are back, a chance to grow closer to God
On the side of a hill in Harlan County, Kentucky sat a run-down house that had unruly weeds and only remnants of siding on the exterior. This house was similar to many in this poverty-stricken town.
This April, a team of students will be traveling to Harlan County to help restore homes like the one described above. Mission trips through Touch the World have resumed at Eastern Christian High School with Mr. Bailey as one of the leaders. They hope to make a difference by serving the community.
Mr. Bailey has an interesting insight about how he hopes his students’ faith will grow and what he has learned from the Lord through these trips in the past.
“By serving others, we offer God this opportunity and this platform to shape our worldview, minds, and hearts. Whenever we offer the Lord space and time to do something in our souls, he enters our lives and makes the change necessary,” says Mr. Bailey.
Mr. Bailey’s main hope for this trip is for his students to have a deeper connection with the Lord. He feels it’s important for them to recognize poverty and to serve people that they may haven’t been exposed to before.
“Everyone walks away with a different interaction with Christ, but I feel like every mission trip I have gone on, I have gotten the opportunity to see everyone take a step in their faith,” says Mr. Bailey.
He wants his students to understand that as Christians we are built to be filled with God’s presence, so we can inspire others to believe in Him. We are called to mobilize when we hear His Word in Church, which we can do by spreading His love.
“Doing service work has helped me to see how God works in that kind of environment and how we grow closer to Him through the struggles we may face,” says Mr. Bailey.
Since being a trip leader his faith journey has grown by doing laborious work. This is because manual labor isn’t usually how he serves God, but he has found it to be a humbling experience. Mr. Bailey strongly feels that when you step out of your comfort zone by trusting Him then He can make big moves in your life.
Mission trips have allowed him to be a disciple and mentor for his students, which he has greatly enjoyed. He hopes his students can be inspired by service just like he has been.
“Anyone can be filled with His love, but it’s important to pour it out with service because then it can transform neighborhoods,” says Mr. Bailey.