ServiceLink Connects Churches with Ministry
Located in the city of Guelph, Ontario, New Life Christian Reformed Church is a medium-size congregation for whom sending young people on summer mission trips remains a high priority. Even this last year during a worldwide drop in the economy, New Life CRC made sure to find the funds, through donations, fund-raisers and through the church budget itself, to support 13 people, who made the trip in two vans to serve and especially to learn at the Indian Family Centre, a CRC-sponsored ministry in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "People find the money, even in a recession, for what they value," says Gary VanArragon, a member of New Life who also serves as Vice President of the CRCNA Board of Trustees. His wife, Gretchen, is Ministry Coordinator at the church. "Sending our young people on mission trips is very much rooted in the culture of our church,” says VanArragon. “We believe that our church doesn’t exist to serve us. The culture forces us to look outside of ourselves.” In going to the Indian Family Centre, to work as well as to learn, he says, was one way “we as Christians can reach out to communities that struggle and are disadvantaged.” Playing a key role, says VanArragon, in making last summer’s trip happen was connecting with the CRC’s ServiceLink Volunteer Program. "ServiceLink's contribution is invaluable between us and the city/ministry where we hope to go," says VanArragon. "ServiceLink makes all of the connections. It does tremendous work." During this time of a tough economy, other CRC congregations can also obtain help as they look ahead to planning mission trips in the coming year, says Carol Sybenga, Program Manager for ServiceLink. "We help churches discern their objectives and broaden their perspectives as they consider sending young people, or even adults, on a mission trip," says Sybenga. The idea, whenever possible, is to include a learning dimension to such trips so that participants can become more aware of issues and challenges faced by other communities and groups. Some of those issues include understanding elements that relate to poverty, living cross culturally and engaging in positive change. "We have a long list of organizations with whom churches can connect if they are interested in serving, and in particular those that include an educational component to a team’s experience," says Sybenga. ServiceLink can help churches put together cost-effective mission trips. “I’m thinking that the current economy has hit some church mission-trip budgets,” says Lisa Sochacki, ServiceLink Volunteer Coordinator for the United States. "Whether you have a youth group, multi-generational church group, skilled labor, or a few college students who want to participate on a service project, ServiceLink can assist you," says Sochacki. In the case of New Life CRC, they made the two-day trip across Ontario to the Centre in Winnipeg. They camped out along the way there and back, using the time to pray and discuss what they hoped to do and then what they learned and how they could apply new ideas in their own community upon return home. While at the Indian Family Centre, the group learned about issues facing Aboriginal people in Canada as well as engaged in service projects. The Centre itself is a CRC ministry that offers various forms of hospitality to First Nations' people who drop in for fellowship and assistance. "We know that we can't really change the world, but we can change ourselves by learning, in this case about poverty and discrimination and some of their causes in relation to Aboriginal people in Canada," says VanArragon. "We come home and are better able to see the extensive poverty in our own communities…The hope is for young people to get active in finding ways to give people a chance to a better life." The CRC's Office of Race Relations also played a role in the learning process. Steve Kabetu, Race Relations Coordinator in Canada, facilitated an orientation workshop with the young people at New Life before they went on the trip. He spoke to them about the things that divide cultures and races and about ways of breaking down those barriers. "ServiceLink values appropriate placement and the development of volunteers. This means that the opportunity meets both the needs of the ministry as well as utilizes the God-given gifts of the volunteer," says the ServiceLink website. “We will come alongside you and assist you with choosing a ministry location that is right for you, as well as pre-trip materials, orientation and debriefing,” says Sochacki. The ServiceLink program has staff based in both the Burlington and Grand Rapids offices, and can be contacted at volunteer@crcna.org. —Chris Meehan, CRC Communications Back to 'Stories' |
