A busy summer of service is kicking off for CrossRoads Missions’ Appalachia outreach program. Serving the underprivileged and elderly in the area of Floyd County, Kentucky, CrossRoads Missions will be sending teams of volunteers throughout the summer with the goals of improving the standard of living and connecting residents in the area with Christ-centered ministries.
For CJ Noe, a field advisor for CrossRoads Missions in the Appalachia field, the start of summer vacation for many students means the preparation for ministry work in Floyd County already is well underway. She shared how the outreach benefits the established ministries in the area.
“We enable them to do something they can’t do on their own,” Noe explained. “We’re always looking at ways to help other ministries in the area, who are more permanent than we are, to accomplish their goals.”
That means everything from getting information to the volunteer groups that already have signed up, making sure volunteers fill out the appropriate medical forms, and equipping the interns serving Floyd County this summer to fulfill their duties.
“Mainly, it’s learning how to grocery shop for 40 people,” Noe joked.
Unlike other areas where CrossRoads sends mission groups, the focus in the Appalachia field is more about rebuilding and repairing existing structures than completing total builds of new homes.
“We do things that enable them to stay in their homes, safely, longer,” Noe said, noting that CrossRoads Missions primarily serves “families that are working hard but don’t make ends meet. We help with repair on their homes to keep them safe for them.”
Offering repair services also allow our mission groups more opportunities to share the gospel with homeowners, as Noe noted.
“You can knock on someone’s door and you’ll earn maybe five minutes but if you are there to fix their front porch you earn probably two weeks talking to them,” she said.
CrossRoads Missions also just began a partnership with a residential apartment complex for elderly, low-income tenants in the Floyd County area, offering complimentary cleaning services. Sometimes, outreach also means just going into communities and organizing games and activities for kids in a given neighborhood.
“There’s no agenda, we just show up and play,” Noe said.
Interested in joining one of the CrossRoads Missions trips to the Appalachia field? You still have time! There is significant space for volunteers to sign up for mission trips beginning on the following dates:
Sunday, June 17
Sunday, June 24
Sunday, July 8
Sunday, July 22
Sunday, July 29
Visit our convenient online registration system to reserve your spot today!
A typical week in the Appalachia field begins on a Sunday evening and ends that Saturday morning. Each Wednesday, the group takes a trip to a local state park. Daily schedules involve devotional time, evening worship service, and evening group activities. Each group helps assist, plan, and participate in community outreach activities, while also working on daily chores and meals and assisting in home repair.
This is just one way that CrossRoads Missions makes a difference in local communities. To find out more about what we do, or gather information on one of our upcoming trips, visit our website at www.crossroadsmissions.com.
