Two Catalyst Teams serve in East Tennessee

Crosswind Church Team

In December a team of 29 people from Crosswind Church went to East Tennessee. Their weekend trip (Dec 5 - 7th) consisted of cleaning and repairs at the Copper Basin Crisis Center in Ducktown, TN as well as ministry in Coletown Baptist Church in Copperhill, TN. This trip was part of a church wide family mission trip and was organized by Catalyst. The goal of the trip was to encourage members of Crosswind to get involved in missions.

The make up of the mission team included children, youth and adults. The team arrived in Ducktown around midnight on December 5th. The following morning, after breakfast and devotional, the team divided into groups. One group traveled to a local nursing home where they passed out approximately 60 gifts and cards to the residents as well as singing Christmas carols and playing bingo. Another group helped organize the food pantry and donations at the Copper Basin Crisis Center with North American Mission Board missionaries Al and Margaret Patterson. The final group traveled to a local ladies residence to install a new toilet that had not been working for quite a while. That evening the group shopped for a local family they decided to sponsor. The Copper Basin Crisis center seeks sponsors for over 1000 local families in need during the holidays, and the team was excited to have the opportunity to bless this family.. On the final day of the trip, the group worshipped with Coal Town Baptist Church. The group led the children’s worship during the service.

Team Photo at an "8x10" resolution - right click the link to save the file to your hard drive.

Photos from the CrossWind Team

Adventure Serve Team

Then, December 12 - 15th, a team of college students from The University of Tennessee Martin and Mississippi State went on a similar trip. Their trip consisted of serving those in need as well as some adventure recreation. The trip was dubbed Adventure Serve. Below you can read through a summary report from the trip coordinator, Jana Ogg.

A group of nine college students from The University of Tennessee at Martin and Mississippi State teamed up to finish their semesters off the right way by making a difference in the lives of families in the Appalachian Mountains area. This was the pilot trip for the Adventure Serve end of semester trip series, and it proved to be a huge success. During the trip the students were able to experience the joy of serving and giving under the spirit of the true meaning of Christmas, along with coming face to face with the glory of God’s creation through adventure activities such as caving, rappelling, and hiking.

The group met up on Friday evening in Chattanooga, Tennessee for some pre-trip fellowship, which turned into a night of memories when trip participants Ben Cox and Conner Jones convinced the manager of Red Robin’s to let them serve by washing dishes in the back. The next morning, the group woke up early and headed to Gee Creek State Park for a day of adventure activities. Everyone rappelled off an 80-foot rock face and explored the depths of a dark cave, all the while drawing parallels to the trust we have stepping out in faith with Jesus and the darkness we were surrounded by before coming to know the love of Christ.

That evening, the group served a local church by providing child’s care during their annual Christmas program. On Sunday, everyone headed to Big Frog Mountain for a challenging 10 mile hike to an overlook that views four states. Although the hike proved to be challenging, the sheer magnificence of God’s creation was undeniable throughout the entire day. The group ate a trail lunch and held worship on the mountain before heading back down to base. As the sun set everyone headed to Wal-Mart to purchase gifts for a local family we adopted for Christmas. It was a blast picking out presents for each of the five children in this special family, and extremely fulfilling to know we were making their Christmas meaningful this year. On Monday, the group headed to the Copper Basin Crisis Center to assist local missionaries Al and Margaret Patterson. The Christmas season is always hectic for this ministry, so work was abundant as soon as everyone arrived. The Pattersons had much they needed help with, including organizing five rooms, setting up counseling rooms, moving clothing closets out to allow room for Christmas presents, etc. “I know we worked hard and accomplished a lot, but I feel like there is such much more we didn’t even touch in the time we were here,” commented team member Kelsey Sigman. “I wish I was able to come back for an entire month and just help the Pattersons get caught up on everything that is overwhelming them.” The team paused for a brief team picture on the way home, and quickly set out for home to beat the incoming winter storm that was rapidly approaching. Adventure Serve number one was an enormous success, and through a combination of experiencing God through the glory of His creation and serving those less fortunate each and every team member walked away feeling that much closer to the ultimate goal of drawing near to God.

Team Photo at an "8x10" resolution - right click the link to save the file to your hard drive. Click here for a trip flyer.

Photos from the Adventure Serve Team

Updated 3/10/09 16:48
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