by Scott Gronholz

For our mission trip this summer the Bethany Senior High Youth Group will be traveling all the way to…Seattle! That’s right. This summer the High School students at Bethany will get a wonderful opportunity to learn about and come alongside several different organizations that are creatively helping the people of our city.

This “trip” is also a chance for students to build relationships with these organizations which will propel them towards developing a lifestyle of service to our larger community. In the past, we have had life-changing experiences learning about the needs of other cultures and communities and we now want to turn the spotlight on our own city.

The decision to have the mission trip take place in Seattle is part of a three-year plan designed to give students a rich and diverse missions experience while they are a part of the “BPYG”. In four years of participation students will have the opportunity to:

1) go on an international trip to places like Costa Rica or Honduras (partnering with Agros)

2) go on an out-of state trip to places like Jackson, Mississippi or Pasadena, California (partnering with the John Perkins center or local homeless ministries)

3) spend a week in their own city of Seattle learning about the unique needs of the community and how different organizations are meeting those needs

At the end of four years, students will have experienced missions and built relationships on a global and domestic level giving them a unique perspective about what “missions” really means.
The mission statement for the BPYG is simple: “To develop lifelong followers of Jesus”. These mission trips are a chance for students to experience what it means to be a part of community of believers selflessly serving others and sharing their resources. It also gives them a chance to think and pray about possibly becoming a missionary or a lifelong volunteer.

There are many things that we do in our program that are geared towards showing students options for Christian vocation and ministry. It’s important that students hear about those serving God with their talents and expertise whether they are musicians or lawyers (we have many of both of those at Bethany!). These mission trips, and this trip to Seattle in particular, allow the students to get out of their everyday contexts and broaden their concept of what it means to be a lifelong follower of Jesus.

The Seattle ’08 mission trip will be from June 28th to July 6th. The students and leaders will be staying in the dorms at Seattle Pacific University and spending their days at the different organizations you can read about below. We’ll also be serving Wednesday Night Dinner at Bethany on Wednesday, July 3rd.
Please be praying for the various ministries with whom we will be serving and also that God would prepare the hearts and minds of the students for a memorable, worthwhile, and safe mission trip—right down the street!

Organizations we will partner with:

• World Relief: www.wr.org
• Solid Ground: www.solid-ground.org
• Union Gospel Mission: www.ugm.org
• Bayview Retirement Community: www.bayviewcommunity.org