Team North Carolina had the opportunity to attend a service at our host church, Providence Baptist Church this morning after a wonderful continental breakfast this morning. The students got to experience a sermon delivered in formal ministerial dress and hymns led by a robed choir. The church members were incredibly warm and welcoming.
After church, we returned to the missions center for lunch and some Praying Pelican ministry training. We brainstormed a team mission and then came up with individual missions and goals for growth on our trip. It brought to mind Valley Christian Schools’ mission of equipping our students to be culture changers for Christ! With our purpose established, we practiced telling our life stories and listening to the life stories of others, and as an added bonus, got to know our team mates a little bit better.
Our next activity was to create bags with our names on them. These brown paper bags were a tool to practice the art of affirmation. Students wrote two affirmations for their friends and team mates today with a challenge to look for things to affirm during the rest of the trip and to try and write one for each member of our missions team.
The church dropped off some sports equipment for us and the team took to the baseball field for a quick game of kickball and some phone free bonding! Our final team building/ministry practice activity was to write down our favorite Bible verse on a notecard. We then got into a large circle and practiced going around to a peer in the circle, sharing a verse, and asking how we can pray for them. As we each prayed we left our card with the other person and carried a yellow string.
By the time everyone had made their way through the prayer circle, we had formed a web. We talked about how we are not called to do ministry work alone, we are meant to support one another. Prayer is a great way to do that because prayer connects us.
After a little more free time, we gathered together for a delicious spaghetti dinner, devotions and instructions for the following day. We cannot wait to begin serving the community of Charlotte tomorrow! What a blessed and encouraging day of connecting with our ministry team and learning more about how to establish our mission, tell life stories and listen well, affirm one another and pray over people.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV) “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
After church, we returned to the missions center for lunch and some Praying Pelican ministry training. We brainstormed a team mission and then came up with individual missions and goals for growth on our trip. It brought to mind Valley Christian Schools’ mission of equipping our students to be culture changers for Christ! With our purpose established, we practiced telling our life stories and listening to the life stories of others, and as an added bonus, got to know our team mates a little bit better.
Our next activity was to create bags with our names on them. These brown paper bags were a tool to practice the art of affirmation. Students wrote two affirmations for their friends and team mates today with a challenge to look for things to affirm during the rest of the trip and to try and write one for each member of our missions team.
The church dropped off some sports equipment for us and the team took to the baseball field for a quick game of kickball and some phone free bonding! Our final team building/ministry practice activity was to write down our favorite Bible verse on a notecard. We then got into a large circle and practiced going around to a peer in the circle, sharing a verse, and asking how we can pray for them. As we each prayed we left our card with the other person and carried a yellow string.
By the time everyone had made their way through the prayer circle, we had formed a web. We talked about how we are not called to do ministry work alone, we are meant to support one another. Prayer is a great way to do that because prayer connects us.
After a little more free time, we gathered together for a delicious spaghetti dinner, devotions and instructions for the following day. We cannot wait to begin serving the community of Charlotte tomorrow! What a blessed and encouraging day of connecting with our ministry team and learning more about how to establish our mission, tell life stories and listen well, affirm one another and pray over people.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV) “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
So good! Love the team bonding!!