HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A group of 225 students and adults carried the message of the Gospel to the Mountain State — and are helping with home repairs for those who need it.
The faith-based World Changers organization chose Huntington as one of its 19 summer projects this year. World Changers was founded in 1990 to give youth an opportunity to learn about Jesus and serve communities all around the country with mission trips. World Changers has sent mission trips to Huntington since 1998.
The Huntington contingent of World Changers staff members and students arrived Saturday.
World Changers summer staff member Gabby Hochwender, along with students Lucy Norwood and Carys Ward, joined MetroNews “Midday” on Monday to discuss the project.
Hochwender said the students went to a Huntington church Sunday to officially begin the week.
“The way the World Changers works is that certain local churches will feed these students throughout the week,” Hochwender said. “They had the opportunity on Sunday morning to go to service and just be a part of that family,”
The work began Monday with projects in the city, Hochwender said.
“Students will go out and they will work on low-income homes in the community doing construction-based projects,” Hochwender explained. “Then, they come back in the evenings, and we put on a worship service for them. So, World Changers is in charge of setting up and producing and putting on the mission trip, and the students and participants are the ones that are doing all the work for the community.”
Both Norwood and Ward came from the Palmetto State to the Mountain State for the project. Norwood, 17, attends Northwood Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina. She said it was an eight-hour drive from South Carolina to West Virginia, and the bus departed Saturday at 4 a.m. She said there were some great conversations on the trip.
“Some people have gone to West Virginia for multiple years. Some people, it’s just their first time,” Norwood said. “So, we get to tell them what it’s about. When we get here, we kind of get into our watching facility, and get into our rooms, and then we get to meet other people from different churches, get to hear different people’s stories and testimonies.”
Norwood and Ward met the homeowner for their project on Sunday, who they called “Mr. Jerry.” Norwood said Jerry has a physical disability, so the World Changers project at his house is to rebuild his fence and doing deck work.
Additionally, Norwood noted that students explain what World Changers is to neighbors, not just the homeowner. She said they ask the neighbors if they can pray for them, along with raising awareness about their faith.
“Our main goal for World Changers is trying to share the Gospel, who Jesus is as our personal savior, and then just try to see if they will accept their ways,” Norwood said. “If they don’t, it’s okay, but just at least placing seeds along the way, just to show who God really is in this lost world.”
Ward, 13, attends Crossroads Community Church in South Carolina. She said the youth pastor first mentioned the World Changers program to her when she was in the sixth grade. Ward said she went to Boone, North Carolina last year — and this is her second year participating.
“Doing it this year again, I just loved it,” Ward said. “I heard about it, just felt like coming, and it’s really fun. Sharing the gospel, doing home projects, it’s a nice way to get God into the community.”
Hochwender said she leads worship in the evenings with another World Changers summer staff member. She said it’s very fulfilling to see “the word of God is alive” in these students.
“It’s just so great to see, they’re coming in and we see students of all walks of faith,” Hochwender said. “We see some that are coming in, and they don’t really know Jesus is their personal savior, and we’ve seen others say they’re walking faithfully, and they have been for years. So, to see just that wide range is really awesome.”
The week-long projects in Huntington wrap up Friday. World Changers is set to send mission trips to 12 states, including West Virginia, this summer.
Read more about the Huntington projects here.