This summer a team of East Cooper families traveled to Sicily, Italy to serve with global partners. Danny Beech, the Next Gen Pastor, brought the idea of a family-oriented mission trip to the missions pastor last year. “My desire was to give families an opportunity to see the gospel at work in a different culture. For example, I desired for kids to experience a worship service in a different language, to begin to feel the cost of living overseas for the gospel, to participate in a gospel effort that is outside the comfort zone of American ease,” Danny explained. 

In God’s providence and sovereignty, one of East Cooper’s global partners of 15 years recently reached out to our church and asked if 4-5 families travel to Sicily and run a kids camp in partnership with a tiny local church that deeply desires to impact their community with the bright light of the Gospel. The team of adults and kids prepared to travel to Sicily for months in advance. They discussed how to show love through a language barrier, how to run games for 100 kids, and how East Cooper was giving resources of people and money to help a local church in another country so that the gospel would go forth in their community. “We regularly emphasized the role of the local church and how we were only going for a short time, but their church was staying and we wanted to do all we could to help that church reach their neighbors, family, co-workers, and friends with the gospel.

In late June, the team arrived in Sicily and jumped into a busy week that began with a worship service. Throughout the week, the teams put on a kids camp in the local park surrounded by ten-story apartment buildings. They taught the local children songs, dances, and put on a soccer tournament. Every evening, a themed family event was held in the park and all were invited from the community. One of the local pastors shared why these people had traveled to put on this camp. He explained that they love because Christ first loved us. Countless connections, conversations, and budding gospel relationships happened throughout the week.

Danny also shared about the impact of these weeks in Italy, “The Lord is at work in Sicily. The local church was encouraged and are now following up with dozens of contacts and new relationships.  Follow up gatherings have already started happening and new families have come to church. Praise the Lord for all He has done and is doing.”