Student Missions

As students get older and have more experience in serving, we take things up a notch. Mission Tour is all about finding a place where God is at work and learning how we can join him there in what he’s doing… in worship, in service, and in community. That is the very heartbeat of what it means to follow Jesus and our purpose on Mission Tour.  

Located in the Albuquerque Basin, the city of over 500,000 residents is flanked by the Sandia Mountains to the east and the West Mesa to the west. It’s the 32nd-most populous city in the United States and the fourth largest in the Southwest. Like many major American cities, Albuquerque struggles with homelessness, which has become more visible since the 2000s. There were an estimated 4,000 to 4,500 homeless living in the Albuquerque metropolitan area in 2019, with millennials and elderly accounting for the fastest growing segments. Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman Monica Armenta said the number of homeless kids enrolled in district schools (meaning children from families that have no permanent address) has consistently ranged from 3,200 to 3,500.

Field Focus is our advanced level mission trip for upperclassmen. Not only does it challenge our students to go further physically, but it also challenges them to go deeper spiritually. Our Field Focus Trip to Milwaukee is capped at 20 people and requires additional leadership training. Students must submit applications to be considered for the trip, as well as attend weekly training meetings on Wednesday Nights starting March 27.  
Students participating on the Student Leadership Team since Fall 2023 will have first consideration for this trip. Any student who isn’t a member of the Student Leadership Team, or joined later than Fall 2023, is still able and encouraged to apply for Field Focus.  

During your time in Milwaukee, you may have the opportunity to work on beautification and landscaping projects at a school, or doing home repair at a family’s house. But at the end of the week you can know that your understanding of the city, as well as growth in and understanding of prayer will have taken place. Relationships will have formed. Projects will have been completed. And the love of Christ will be made known.

Junior High Mission is designed to take our mission experiences to the next level outside of Tulsa. It is designed to show Junior High students that they can be the hands and feet of Jesus and be used mightily by God wherever they go.

Des Moines is Iowa’s capital city known for its spacious parkland and hiking trails, with over 212,000 residents. The greater Des Moines area is supported by local churches and ministry organizations to aid those who are experiencing homelessness and provide support for at-risk youth. According to Hope Ministries, there were 10,656 homeless Iowans in 2021, 2,826 Iowans homeless on a single given night in 2022, and 606 homeless on a single night in Polk County alone (Des Moines). Hope Ministries seeks to rescue, recover, and restore hurt people in central Iowa. Hope Ministries alongside others have committed to eliminating the pain of homelessness, and we are able to partner in the ministry through organizing donated goods, distributing food, and any other needs of the community.