The Arizona trip was good on many fronts, but there are two that I want to focus on.
First, we had eight men, and for 5 of them it was their first mission experience. They ranged in age from their 20s to late 60s. Only one had substantial construction experience. But they all were willing to do whatever they could and were willing to learn new skills to accomplish the task. At the end of the trip they all recognized that hanging and trimming doors, caulking and painting, and just being available to do whatever was requested was real ministry. Gradually we as a church are realizing that ministry is not something that we hire a professional to do. Rather, we are seeing that ministry takes on many different forms and each of us has multiple ministry responsibilities, all of which are important to building the Kingdom of God.
Second, I saw mentoring going on, old to young as well as young to old. As guys who may not have known one another very well prior to the trip, this week gave them an opportunity to get to know one another at a level that would not have been possible during conventional times of gathering at church. Each of the guys has at least one person who now is known much better and is now a potential source of help or advice in coming years.
We're doing it again next June. Plan now to be part of this great experience.
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