We are excited to partner with LeaderTreks to serve in Austin, Tx. This will be a leadership mission experience like none other, right up the road on I-35.
Dates: June 28- July 3
Trip Cost: $445
Trip Max: 25
Why AUSTIN? (WHY NOT?)
Keep Austin Weird. The City of Austin’s motto is lived out through its artistic culture and love of food trucks. But with any rapidly growing big city, there are also underserved neighborhoods. Through our local partnerships, students will learn how the church is responding to these needs in very real ways. Your team will serve in a variety of local ministries, ranging from a food pantry to a rescue mission. Students will also get the opportunity to explore Austin during our Adventure Race and they’ll kayak through historic Lady Bird Lake.
Ministry Outreach
Through our various partnerships, students will gain insight into what ministry in an urban environment really looks like. Opportunities include: soup kitchen, working at a neighborhood outreach center, and more.
Adventure Opportunities
Students will have the opportunity to explore downtown Austin during the Urban Adventure Race, kayak Lady Bird Lake, explore local parks and conservatories, and go hiking.
Logistics
Meet at Oakwood to Travel together Sunday, June 28
Return Saturday, July 4 after morning debrief around Noon.
Marty and Fern are the Christian hip hop duo Social Club Misfits from Miami, Florida. Their music centers around bringing the message of the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ to ‘misfits’ all over the world. They each had individual music projects in process when they decided to collaborate on a song together in 2011. From there they released several projects and went on to form the band Social Club – earning loyal followers along the way. Their US album was featured in YLO100.
Calling himself a “broken vessel for the Lord” Fern brings a vulnerability and transparency to the music they create. He is a man with a past and admits God saved him from himself. “I just love God for bringing me where he brought me to – from where I was at. You know definitely like, in a pit. So, I just give thanks for that,” Fern says.
Drawing from that history and the realities of life now, Fern has a way of finding just the right words and crafting them so they reach the hurting parts of each person who listens to their personal stories and songs. When he speaks his words flow with a unique rhythm, reminiscent of the poetry found in the Psalms.
Marty grew up “playing the church game” until he was eighteen when God rescued him, not just once but over and over again. “There’s this idea in the church that things are okay. But there are people in the church who are broken… my journey stemmed from people who broke my trust and hurt me – cut me deep. And so, it put me on this long path of depression and sadness. And now I can honestly say I don’t even know how I felt that way because God rescued me and I don’t know who that person was,” Marty says.
And, that’s where Social Club Misfits direct their attention. They reach out to people, young and old, who’ve been hurt – whether by the church, family, someone, or something else. “People who feel like an outcast and feel as though they don’t belong because they don’t fit in. They aren’t a ‘popular.’”
“Our heart is to help you understand that if you are weird, God made you like that – and it’s okay. Embrace who God created you to be,” encourages Marty.
What is Fusion? Fusion offers a loving and accepting environment geared for middle school students grades 6-8. We have events, weekly meetings, and exist to Intentionally Engage middle school students by leading them to the heart of the Father.
When and Where does Fusion Meet? 6th-8th grades meet in the Pavilion on Sunday and Wednesday nights.
What happens on Fusion Sundays? Beginning at 9:15am, students have a Shipley doughnut or five, worship time with a band, talk time, and then break out in rooms by grade and gender for small group time. 10:30am is dismissal time from break out rooms.
Lock-in at Blazer Tag in Austin August 16-17 | 7pm – 7am
$65 | Early Bird Closes August 4 (Payment in full)
$70 | Regular Registration closes August 11 ($25 locks in rate)
$75 | Late Registration beginning August 12
Bryan Drake is Kicking Off LOCKLAPALOOZA!!!!!!!
Following check-in at 7pm there will be entertainment, games, and pizza in the Oakwood Pavilion. Bryan Drake Kicks Off the Night and we make a quick stop to D-Bat for Dodgeball and Kickball before heading to Blazer Tag in Austin.
Then at 11pm we travel to Blazer Tag to take over the facility from MIDNIGHT to 6AM!
Pick up from Oakwood at 7am on August 17
Snacks and drinks will be provided throughout the night.
Check-in at Oakwood Pavilion at 3:00pm Chartered Bus Leaves at 3:30pm Cost: $30.00 Price Includes: Transportation; Park Entrance; Pizza and Drink Play time 4pm to 8:pm Bus back at church at 8:30 pm Registration & payment due by July 28th
SUNDAY JUNE 23 – MS Mission Trip Parent Meeting is after 10:45 Service in Student Pavilion
Our Middle School Students are Intentionally Engaging the Medina Children’s Home location with Arms of Hope Ministries. We will be serving on campus in the mornings, doing yard work, and helping with various tasks to make the place better. In the afternoon, our students will run a Vacation Bible School with the theme: WALK THIS WAY. Pray that God protects us and strengthens us in the heat, unifies our team to serve, and pours out His LOVE in our midst.
MONDAY JUNE 24 – Meet @ Oakwood Monday at 10:30am to check in, gather and get on the BUS!
FRIDAY JUNE 28 – We arrive back at Oakwood around 3pm Friday.
Two Updated Packing Notes:
Bring all your own toiletries and bedding
Work Project Dress – shorts and t-shirt are fine, pack one pair of jeans/pants. Most of us will be helping with some renovation clean up during the week.
