Ambassadors in Ohio

August 4, 2022

Last week a group of 25 Browncroft high school students and leaders embarked on a mission trip to Cleveland, Ohio. (By God’s grace alone all our luggage fit into the back of 3 SUV’s and 1 minivan.) And what a week it was!

As ambassadors for Christ — and Browncroft — we were there to serve elderly homeowners. Our group members spent months learning about cultural context, how to share our faith, and how to bless others through the work of our hands. It was so exciting when we finally got the opportunity to meet the people for whom we’d been praying.

We were split into three crews. Our first one had the pleasure of helping Ms. Joan with her fencing, sidewalk, stairs, siding, and more. Crew 2 met the lovely Ms. Joyce (who made some delicious treats, I hear), worked on her flooring, and built the main supports for an overhang. And crew 3 assisted Mrs. Jeralyn by ripping out and replacing the subfloor of her first floor bathroom — a crucial project due to her declining mobility.

The hefty physical work opened the door to great conversations. In fact, I had the pleasure of watching students pray with homeowners and their families — honoring them with genuine interest in their lives.

I was especially proud when we went to a women’s shelter and provided child-care for women attending a Bible study. Our teens loved the kids so well. Watching them play hide-and-seek, basketball, and telling jokes to heal the hurt of a scraped knee, I felt an overwhelming sense of selflessness and care radiating from the love of Christ in them.

Every night our group would finish with “Yay God” moments. From service to friendship to seeing the beauty of God’s creation on the beaches of Lake Erie, our students had plenty to highlight.

Following the trip, my prayer is that God would continue the work of blessing those elderly friends through the work of others in their area — and that He would bring their families closer and closer to Him. I pray, too, that our students catch the goodness, healing, and beauty that comes from having a relationship with Him, and they would continue growing in regular service and connection with their Creator.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us and supporting us as we represented Browncroft in Ohio. God is good!

About The Author

Aaron McGinnis

Aaron McGinnis, Browncroft's Student Director, is a Brockport native. He served for 3 years in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he was involved in youth ministries, camps, and filmmaking classes for teens. As fun as the lights, camera, and action were, he felt the Lord call him back to Rochester to minister to students and leaders here at Browncroft in 2019.

A mission partnership is a shared ministry by the church and an outside partner for the purpose of advancing the gospel of Jesus. Central to the idea of our Browncroft mission partnerships is mutuality, a shared commitment where both parties learn from each other as they work together to serve God’s greater mission in the world.

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