Alabama Baptists are fulfilling the Great Commission and discovering the joy of missions work through MissionsFEST and FamilyFEST trips, a volunteer connection ministry of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU). Since the first MissionsFEST trip two years ago to Charleston, S.C., more than 75 Alabamians from more than 14 churches have participated in at least one of these three- to seven-day ministry efforts.
“Through MissionsFEST, (adult) volunteers join with local Christians in a highly concentrated effort to support ongoing missions projects throughout the United States,” said Kristy Carr, volunteer connection specialist with national WMU.
“FamilyFEST gives families with children from first grade and up (the opportunity) to participate in missions trips together.”
A partnership between national WMU, state WMU and local Baptist associations, these intensive nationwide missions experiences allow volunteers to do hands-on mission work without the concern of scheduling a trip.
“Both MissionsFEST and FamilyFEST are pre-packed missions experiences that volunteers can easily plug in to,” said Carr. “The volunteers do not have to worry about the logistics of the trip because we have taken care of all the arrangements, lodging, types of ministries, etc.”
MissionsFEST and FamilyFEST trips in 2002 took volunteers to Chattanooga, Tenn., Chicago, Ill., Seattle, Wash. and Baltimore, Md. Similar in many ways, missions trips provide an assortment of ministries ranging from construction projects to medical clinic work to prayer walking.
According to Carr, more than 300 volunteers on a trip to Mississippi read to students in area schools, built a prayer garden beside a church, evangelized door-to-door, weatherized houses (and) conducted block parties with more than 700 people in the community.
On other trips, volunteers sometimes do arts and crafts, visit nursing homes, prepare and serve food and lead Vacation Bible School.
As with most missions trips, volunteers who serve in these programs say they are just as blessed as the people in the communities they visit.
“While in Baltimore we served in a men’s homeless shelter called Helping Up Mission,” said Carr. “I believe that a lot of stereotypes were shattered by both the men at the shelter and the volunteers who served there during the week.”
More importantly, many people are led to Jesus Christ through the various ministries. According to Carr, there were 30 professions of faith during the Mississippi trip and four in Baltimore.
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