The goal of these short term ministry trips is two-fold:

1. To serve Christ by serving the communities we visit

2. To build up the faith & spiritual gifts of the students & leaders who go

To that end, preparing ourselves spiritually before the trip is critically important. Not everyone will be able to make every meeting, but please make as many as you can.

Wednesday, May 31 - 7 PM

LEADERS, PARENTS and STUDENTS must attend to review the goals & expectations for this trip. I know that not everyone will be able to attend because of schedule conflicts, so we will record this, but please make every effort to come if you are able.

We will meet in the sanctuary begin with devotions based on 1 Peter 4:10-11

Wednesday, June 21 - 7 PM

LEADERS / STUDENTS - We'll start as group reviewing how we serve Jesus when serving others by going through Matthew 25:31-46. We'll then break up into groups so that leaders can begin connecting a bit more with students.

Wednesday, June 28 - 7 PM

We'll review James 5:13-18 together and then do some more group exercises.

Sunday, July 2 - 6 PM

Combined evening send off service with Ocheyedan CRC - Ice cream social to follow

Leave Worthington CRC: 5 AM July 7

Return to Worthington: Late Saturday July 15

We will have copies of these to fill out when the kids leave, but they must be signed by a parent and on file before we leave, so you may want to consider filling it out ahead of time.

Hello SERVE Participants, We are so excited to welcome you to Montana in a few short weeks! We have been preparing for our SERVE week for many months and we are eager to get to know each of you as we serve and worship together. After several years without Gallatin Valley SERVE, we are excited to welcome more students and leaders to our beautiful home. You can look forward to mountain views, warm days, and cool, refreshing evenings.

Here is a list of essentials that you should bring:

● A Bible and pen.

● Sleeping bag and pillow. (Small air mattresses, sleeping mats, or cots welcome)

● Personal hygiene products.

● Wash cloth and towel.

● Work pants (work shirts are provided and will be washed each day). Please pack at least 1 pair of long pants as you may be doing yard work involving brush/firewood moving.

● Close-toed shoes

● Work gloves, a hat, and sunscreen to protect yourself in outdoor working environments.

● Bug spray may be helpful, we’ve had a very rainy spring!

● Water bottle.

● Nice pants or shorts to wear Sunday morning during church with your SERVE t-shirt (shirt provided upon arrival).

● Comfortable clothes and shoes for recreation, fellowship activities at the church, and our day away.

● A modest swimsuit.

● Spending money for excursions.

○ All (delicious!) meals are provided when you are here, but there may be the option of grabbing a treat with your small group on one of the days.

Showers are located on site at the school where we are staying. Bring a small bag to carry your shower things with you, as they are not next to your sleeping rooms.

We will be collecting your cell phones for the week to encourage interaction with other participants and remove the distractions of technology. They will be stored in a secure location. You will have access to them on the day away so you can take photos.

We trust that you will leave any inappropriate items that would be a safety issue for yourself or others or distracting to our time together at home. These items will be confiscated and any significant issues could result in participants being sent home at their own expense. If you have a question about anything you plan to bring, please ask.

If you have any prescription medication, please discuss that with your church’s SERVE leaders, as they will be responsible for monitoring those. We received information on allergies and additional medical notes submitted in your registration process. If there are any other details we need to be aware of for your time with us, please reach out.

We invite SERVE participants and family members to connect with us on Facebook and Instagram (@gallatinvalleyserve) to follow pre-SERVE announcements and SERVE week activities. We will do our best to keep these pages updated with photos for friends and family! We also have an email address designated for sending notes to participants during the week of SERVE! Please feel free to share it with family, friends, or your congregation. Use it to send notes of encouragement throughout the week. We will print them each day and distribute them to students. This email address is gallatinvalleyserve@gmail.com. In the subject line, please write the participant’s first and last name so it is clear who to deliver the note to.

Parents and guardians, in the event of an emergency during SERVE please contact our Host Team Coordinators, Hannah Brouwer at 406-224-0358 (call or text) or Josh Sinnema at 708-870-4742 (call or text). You can email brouwernh@gmail.com with non-urgent concerns.