The "Stay-At-Home" Mission Trip

In the first official year of our Young Adults Ministry, God has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. Our group continues to grow not only in number but also in fellowship with one another. This past weekend, several ministry members participated in what we called the “Stay-At-Home Mission Trip.”
Many in our group are graduate students or entry-level employees with limited vacation time, so, rather than have us travel elsewhere, ministry leader Theo Westbrook planned a mission trip right here in Searcy.
To prepare, we spent weeks learning to use The Four Fields, a mission strategy modeled on the example of Jesus. He entered empty fields, sowed Gospel seeds, discipled those who responded, and gathered them into His body, the Church.
Our goal was also to mirror Jesus sending out the 70 in Luke 10—gathering together, receiving instruction, going into the field, rejoicing in what God had done, and ending in thanksgiving to the Father.
With this in mind, we gathered at Rick & Susan Harper’s home on Friday evening to strategize for the next day. We prayed that God would work through our weaknesses and anxieties. We ended the night in worship, asking the Father to go before us as we entered the community.
On Saturday, our “mission trip” began. Some walked through neighborhoods or visited local businesses, looking for “people of peace” to pray for. Others went to the library, downtown, and local parks to connect with people in our community.
Not everyone we encountered was open to prayer, but many were. Several people shared openly about their struggles and prayer requests. Our goal was simple: to be a bright spot in someone’s day—to reach neighbors in our own backyard who might be open to talking about Jesus. We concluded our “trip” by sharing experiences and thanking God for all He had done.
The “Stay-At-Home Mission Trip” was a meaningful learning experience for everyone involved. It reminded us that our community has real needs that only God can meet. It showed us how many opportunities we have to share Jesus—opportunities we often overlook. And it taught us that while reaching our neighbors can be challenging, it can also be really, really fun.
Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). May God give us laborers, opportunities, boldness, and eyes to see the harvest.
D. Ray Brown