Next week, The Center for Rural Ministry will be sending two teams of Grove City College students to churches in rural communities to serve and learn from their leaders and congregations.
Each year during Spring break, Grove City students travel to places around the country and even overseas to steward their God-given talents in ways that serve the people they encounter through the Inner Community Outreach (ICO) program. ICO Rural Ministry (ICORM) consists of two cohorts, each consisting of 13 students that will volunteer their time off during Spring Break to local churches in Western Pa.
Heading North | Kane, Oil City, Franklin, Mercer
The North Cohort, led by junior Lila Stonehouse and senior Nathan Striebel, will visit four churches during the trip. “I’m looking forward to so many things… gaining a broader vision of the Kingdom of God and the unity of the Body of Christ as we get to experience different churches and ministries, hearing the stories of pastors and members of the communities we will visit, being able to bless and serve others even in small ways, building deeper friendships with the other team members as we are challenged and encouraged together and seeing the Lord show off His power and goodness in ways we could not anticipate,” Stonehouse reflected.
They will start off the week leading worship services in Kane Pa. at Kane Community Methodist Church. They will then participate in volunteer work at a clothing distribution center and food bank in Oil City with local church, Oil City Vineyard. The group will head to Franklin Pa. and will volunteer doing nonprofit work with Redeemer Anglican Church. They’ll finish the trip at Coolspring Presbyterian Church and serve the congregation by working on a few manual labor projects.
Heading South | New Castle, Zelienople
The South Cohort, led by juniors Nevada Pacifico and Jack Johnston, will spend the majority of the trip at three churches in New Castle Pa. They will first visit Christ United Church. There they will lead a worship service, assist with landscaping work and spend some time learning from the church’s pastor, Jason Schepp. The group will then head to Faith Country Chapel to enjoy a meal and a time of fellowship with the church’s congregation. They’ll spend two days at New Covenant Church helping with a few maintenance projects. They’ll end the trip at Living Faith Church in Zelienople. They’ll serve through children’s ministry and worship with the congregation. Both groups will emphasize learning from each church’s pastors, getting to know their congregations and celebrating the broader community of Christ.
“Each year, I walk away from this trip learning more about rural ministry but also learning more about the character of Christ. I’m hoping that we cling to the pastors’ experiences with being a spiritual leader within a rural community and see the strengths of these communities while also understanding the difficulties of rural ministry. My prayer is that through this trip, we will see the diversity of the body of Christ and what it means to walk alongside each other while mutually encouraging one another in the faith and living out the Gospel!” Pacifico said.
How You Can Pray
The teams have been meeting weekly to prepare for their trip. During their meetings, they engage with each other by worshiping together, studying Scripture, praying over the congregations and church leaders they will be visiting, and sharing their testimonies with one another. The group also held a retreat to set goals for each trip and to get to know one another better before Spring Break. They ask those wanting to support them and their efforts to pray that they would encourage and be encouraged in faith through their interactions with each church.
“[Pray] that we would have servant hearts and a willingness to go out of our comfort zones [and] pray for the ministries we’ll visit – that God would use them to accomplish great things in their communities and that the leaders we meet would be refreshed by our visit,” Stonehouse requested.
“We ask that there can be prayer over our team. Prayer for health, relationships and humble hearts to serve. Also, prayer for the leaders as we are finishing the preparation for the trip and that we can lead our team well during the week. We ask for prayer over the people we will be visiting. Prayers for strength, wisdom and discernment for the pastors and their leadership and prayer for the heart of their churches and communities. Ultimately, we pray that the Lord will be glorified in all we do and that our service will be done for the advancement of the Kingdom!” Pacifico said.
Emily Fox is a junior at Grove City College and a CRM Student Fellow. She grew up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and is studying English with minors in Writing and Digital Marketing at the college. Post-grad, she hopes to pursue a career in Public Relations.
