Student Ministries took 21 students and leaders to Sunderland, UK from July 5-14 to serve the local community through local churches. In the north east of England, less than 3% of people consider themselves Christians, and the need for the love and hope of Jesus is evident. When the team arrived in Sunderland, they split into two different units, serving with two local evangelical churches in Sunderland. The Sunderland Community Church unit had the opportunity to be in local elementary schools, speaking in assemblies, and running Camp of Champions, a sports outreach where our students were able to share the gospel through halftime talks. The other unit served alongside New Springs City Church, working in their community garden, running a special needs service, and doing yard work and talking to students at another elementary school about faith, hope, and love. It was an incredible week of ministry, which saw several people come to know Jesus for the first time, Bibles given out, the gospel shared, many seeds planted, and so much growth in our students. Please continue to pray for the churches in Sunderland, that God would strengthen and build them.
Team Member Stories
Dennis
"My biggest takeaway from this trip is that God has opened my heart to others, and my heart aches for the people in Europe. This trip has created such an upset in my plans for life and at the moment I'm logically processing what my next steps are. I want to live a life that is out of my comfort zone in such a way that God will use me and stretch me and that I will follow wherever He leads me even if that means sacrificing my wants and my plans. This trip was such a blessing to be a part of, and I am thankful for how God used our team to do His work in Sunderland."
Roger
"I have been honored to help lead the team to Sunderland England for the past three years. The relationships that we have made with our Sunderland family, the churches that we partner with, and the community, have been incredible. One of the best highlights has to be seeing and talking to people that we have met the year before and seeing their genuine appreciation and astonishment that we have come back. It’s been asked of us numerous times, “Why would you want to visit Sunderland?" I tell them God’s Word was brought into the North of England many, many, many years ago and now they consider themselves to be in a post-Christian Era. Well, if God did it once He’ll do it again. There is a huge need for the people of England to understand that they are valued and very much loved! Whatever I can do to show this, I want to do, by following the will of our savior Jesus Christ."
Abby
"This past week I had the opportunity to serve with Sunderland Community Church in northern England and help run Camp of Champions. I loved camp because we were split into teams with the same kids every day so we were able to build great relationships with the kids quickly. The best part of camp for me wasn't the team chants or the games, as fun as they were, but it was our "halftime talks" where we were able to share the gospel. Most of the kids knew who Jesus was but had no clue what He was all about. From the first day when I told them the story of Mary and Martha they were asking excellent questions such as "well, why did Jesus have to come?" Throughout the week the questions grew. It was amazing to see each kid get curious about what this Jesus' love was all about. By the end of the week, a boy in our group named Bailey accepted Jesus Christ as his savior! Another little boy who was open about being Muslim was also asking great questions and took a book of the gospel of Mark home. Other kids were asking if we would pray with them one on one and taking bibles home as well. It was eye-opening to see not only the need, but the want for the gospel in this area of the world."