Rock Hill – The Final Frontier

By this point, I trust most of you are aware that this year’s youth mission trip is different from previous years. Instead of going to the Cumberland Gap for the Appalachia Mission trip, we are going to Rock Hill, SC for the Rock Hill Mission trip. The changes go further than name and location. We are going to Rock Hill to help with an ARP church plant, Hill City Church, pastored by Rev. Andy Stager. You may remember when Rev. Stager came to White Oak in April to share with us his vision for the church plant and the work that has been done to accomplish the vision. It’s an exciting work – and we are excited to be a part of it! Another change is that every aspect of this trip has been planned by us! For the Appalachia Mission trip, we were plugged into rooms, boarding – sometimes, even the church we would work with. Our main, and really only, responsibility was leading VBS for the week. For the Rock Hill Mission trip, every part of this trip has been planned for us – room, meals, location, even local churches supporting us by providing dinners for us. It has been a different experience to oversee every big and small detail! Even with all the changes, some things will look the same. We will lead VBS during the morning– although it will be in a park, instead of a building. Our focus will be more on outreach and evangelism. But, there will still be a focus on relationships in order to share the Gospel in word and deed. There will also be worship and prayer – with more focus on prayer. Each evening, one of the adult leaders will lead in devotion, our youth will lead in music, and we then have time for prayer. There will also be plenty of joking and fellowship with a great mission team! Overall, what will be the same is our aim to fulfill the Great Commission: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) One other non-change: the church blog! Starting on Saturday, June 30th, we will be updating the church blog with stories and pictures. You can visit the blog at http://whiteoakarp.org/Blog.html and be a part of the trip! Please be in prayer for our group, travelling, weather (it’s forecasted to be very hot next week!), outreach, boldness, humility – and safety! You can find a list of the missionaries in the newsletter and bulletin. Please plan on joining us on Sunday, July 15th after the 11 am worship to hear about the trip! Soli Deo Gloria – Pastor James

Preparing for the mission trip

I guess it's time to dust off the church blog as we get ready for this year's mission trip! Here are a few highlights for this year's trip: * It is no longer the Appalachia Mission Trip for us. This year, we are going to Rock Hill, SC to help with an ARP church plant - Hill City Church. *What does this mean? A lot more planning for one thing. Another thing - we have been forced to think outside of the box. We will be ministering at a park (Glencarin Gardens) which is surrounded by neighborhoods of differing economical and sociological statuses. This isn't rural ministry - this is suburban ministry! * Rock Hill is where Beth and I went to college and where we met each other! And, Glencarin Gardens is where we used to spend some of our dates b/c we both lived next to the gardens (in separate houses, of course)! * We'll be spending time with other churches in the area as they provide meals for us. Love the Presbyterian connectionism! Stay tuned as we prepare to give daily updates! Look forward to sharing with y'all the wonders of God's grace in the midst of the work He has called each of us to! And, please be in prayer for us! Missions is only effective when we know that Christ goes with us - especially in prayer! Please pray much and often for us. JWM