25 Jul Summer LINK Raleigh: Why We Go
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 in the name 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)
When I was younger, I thought this passage meant that, as disciples, we needed to go as far away as we could to preach the gospel. I thought we had to go on these fancy mission trips to actually reach people. Sure, it?s true that God calls some people to go to the ends of the earth, but God brought me to my own backyard.
SLINK Mission Trip to Greensboro
This past week, our team went on a short term mission trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, to help Cross Fellowship get the word out about their new meeting place and help with their soccer nights. While there, our team grew closer as a unit. Six members of our team made the hour and fifteen minute trek to Greensboro. These members included our GLINK interns Jesse Pacchioli?and Cameron Stanley. The other four members included: ?Shannon Marshall, Alannie Marshall, Hannah Millard, and myself. Once in Greensboro, we were on the ground running and helping out Cross Fellowship in anyway we could.
Outreach
The first objective the team had was to reach the small areas of neighborhoods near Kiser Middle School, the new meeting place for Cross Fellowship. For myself, this was a very good opportunity to get to know some of the team members from the other church we were working with. Stafford?Crossing?Community?Church in Virginia sent a team down to assist in helping Cross Fellowship?s new outreach as well. It was good to get to know new members on that first day. As the week went on, the team did other jobs to help both Cross and Kiser. After the morning activities concluded, we prepared for the main event: soccer nights.
Soccer Nights
Soccer nights is a free soccer camp open to the public where coaches, players, and volunteers come together to put on a fun and intensive camp that would not be available otherwise. The camps took place at Smith Soccer Complex and went from 6:30-8:30. The team usually got there 2 hours before for basic set up and was ready for any other tasks that needed to be completed. Soccer nights went amazingly well. The kids had fun, the clean up and set up were a breeze, we had amazing coaches and players show up to help, and everyone was on the same page. I’m glad that I was able to be a part of something like this.
Backyard Ministry
Like I said before, some people do not feel like they have done good work unless they go on a big mission trip and go overseas, but I have learned that every person and every place is in need of the gospel. God gives us lots of opportunities to share the gospel right here in Raleigh. I have learned that not all sides of missions are glamorous and that it can be tough work, but it’s much more of a blessing that way. Seeing what churches are doing locally has really helped me understand the hard work and the true presence of God it takes to make it all work.
What SLINK has meant to me
I did not think four months ago that I was going to be able to do Summer LINK, but I’m so glad that I was able to say yes and to seek after the kingdom with other godly men and women. As SLINK draws to a close, my prayer is the connections my team and other teams have made stay strong and are never broken. God is such a good God.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? -Dillon Pegram