Youth and volunteers from St. Paul's Evangelical Church, Moniteau Evangelical Advent Church, Jamestown Baptist Church, Grace Methodist Church, Jamestown Assembly of God and New Hope Baptist Church participated with groups from many states in a missions project in Hurricane, W.V. St. Paul's Evangelical Church Pastor Brian Bish suggested the trip to a group of parents from St. Paul's youth group. Bish said after suggesting a trip the parents spontaneously organized a meeting and with the approval of the Church Board they were off to the races. The trip lasted from July 16-23 and involved 26 youth from the Jamestown area.
"The mission trip was a combination of spiritual growth and service," Bish said. "When we arrived we were split up into crews and each crew had six people. There were no crews in which the people on the crew knew each other previously, so it is a great chance to make friends. Each crew was assigned a house to work on, with a particular project and materials to complete the project. We would work from around 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day with a break for lunch and devotions. The morning would start with a worship service at 8 a.m. and there was another service at 7:30 p.m. and youth group devotions each evening at 8:45 p.m. Some people ask, 'Why couldn't we do this in our own community? There's plenty of need here?' Although there is need here, having the organizational structure that Group Work camps provides and especially their excellent services and devotions were invaluable. Group is an expert organization at providing Christian, spiritual growth for youth."
For more of this story check out the Aug. 17 issue of the California Democrat.