Tabor students serve St. Louis-based ministries
A new service opportunity allowed Tabor College students to serve in ministries based in St. Louis, Mo., during the month of January.
Matt Penner, a Tabor alum and World Impact missionary, coordinated the trip to St. Louis where 14 Tabor students were involved in service-oriented activities for World Impact and other mission organizations located in St. Louis. According to its website, World Impact is an inner-city missions organization dedicated to planting churches among the unchurched, urban poor in America.
Jason and Nancy Phelps, Tabor alumni and World Impact staff missionaries located in St. Louis, also helped guide the group through their work.
The group participated in a week of orientation on theological training and a history of evangelism before diving into their work.
At World Impact, work projects focused on manual labor such as cleaning and painting, according to Jamie Yoder, a sophomore from Kingman.
"At other organizations in the city, we would help them in their mission, such as helping run thrift stores," said Yoder. "It really opened my eyes to the needs of different people."
Through these tasks, the group observed not only how God was moving in the ministries but also how He was challenging them each personally. Nightly devotions facilitated times for the group to reflect on these areas.
"I'm the kind of guy who loves adventure, and through this trip I came to realize that if I just stick with God, He's going take me on the biggest adventure of my life," said Michael Bookless, a freshman from Hillsboro. "I have no idea what that looks like, but I sure am excited to see what He's going to do."
Yoder said she would encourage others to seek out similar opportunities while at Tabor.
"You can go overseas and touch lives, you can go to the inner cities and be exposed to God's work, or you can meet your neighbor's needs across the street," said Yoder.
