Berean Blog

How Our Youth Took the Hope of Jesus to the Last Frontier

Missions. We often think of sneaking Bibles into a communist country or muddling one's way through a jungle to arrive at a remote village. But the truth is our mission field can be right where we are or just a few hours away on a plane ride. Read below to find out how our Berean Youth recently took the hope of Jesus to the Last Frontier - Alaska!

by Dusty Decker on July 12, 2022

Portage-Glacier-Alaska-mountainscape

India, China, or the remote jungles of the Amazon . . .

These are the places most of us think about when we consider the idea of cross-cultural missions. While as a church we certainly should strive to take the Good News of Jesus to the ends of the Earth, there are also places right here in our nation where we can make a tremendous impact for God's Kingdom. What if I told you that there is a state that is not only cross-cultural but also a mission field? This state . . .

  • Has the lowest number of church-attending residents,
  • Has consistently been noted as having one of the most diverse populations, and
  • Has one of the highest poverty levels.

God led our youth team to Alaska.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining and leading a group of 28 high school students and six adults from Berean to the Last Frontier - Alaska! We partnered with a ministry called Grace Works Alaska, which has been ministering to the communities in and around Anchorage for over 18 years.

Early Sunday morning, as we boarded the five-hour flight, there were plenty of conversations centering around seeing moose or bears and the fact that the sun would be up for approximately 20 hours each day. Little did our team know that the plan God had for us would make any moose sightings or cultural oddities a secondary experience to the powerful relationships we would build.

We connected with kids to share the hope of Jesus.

As we joined two other churches that had traveled from Florida and Georgia, our students were broken into teams for the week and assigned to various parks throughout the city. Each afternoon, while at the parks, we built relationships with local kids through games, sports, and crafts. Then, we presented a full Bible Club experience. We also provided free lunches, as many kids were in the free school lunch programs during the school year but had nothing to eat during the summer. Jeremiah 33:3 was the theme verse for the week:

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known (Jeremiah 33:3).

While the kids memorized this verse through the help of motions, the parents and other adults at the park got to hear the truth of the verse while the kids recited it at the top of their lungs.

Berean-Youth-Alaska-mission-trip-kids-Bible-camp

God wrote many new stories that week.

While tired from travel and mission work, our students pushed forward as God planned. Through the relationships built, one of our students led an eight-year-old boy to Christ after he started asking questions about Heaven, Hell, and other “gods.” After telling the boy about Christ and the love he showed through dying on the cross and rising from the grave, the boy prayed to receive Christ and proceeded to run around the park, letting everyone know that Jesus now lived inside of him.

Another victory we experienced was when one of our leaders was able to lead a 42-year-old woman to Christ after she had overheard the Bible Club in the park and had questions.

While we specifically went to Alaska with the young kids in mind, God had a plan for this woman to encounter the gospel that day too.

God can work anywhere!

After wrapping up our time with the kids, we were able to spend some time in the majesty of God’s creation as we visited Portage Glacier and hiked to a snow-covered avalanche field for some fun. It was hard to say goodbye to the kids on our final days, but we know the memories will last a lifetime. 

So, although we may not have had to sneak Bibles into a communist country or hack our way through a jungle to get to a remote village, we were able to see God work through our Berean students in a beautiful cross-cultural setting. To God be the glory!

If you ever have the opportunity to go on a mission trip too, I encourage you to take it. You won't regret it. And remember, God can also use you right here, right now, right in your everyday moments of life. Sometimes we just have to pause to notice what's around us.


Want to learn more about our youth program at Berean?
Click below!

Berean-youth-logo

Tags: christian youth, churches near me, churches in lakeville, berean baptist church, berean youth, churches in apple valley, youth making an impact, churches in burnsville, youth for jesus, share jesus, share hope, gospel impact, youth on a mission, youth in missions, for god so loved the world, alaska mission trip, church youth groups near me, youth activities near me, missions-minded youth, everyday missionary, youth mission trip to alaska

Previous Page

Subscribe to our Blogs Here