REACH Student Ministries is embarking on a short-term missions trip this summer, to the Dominican Republic! We sat down with our student pastor, Emerson Bandemer, to learn more about the trip. Below, you’ll find specific ways to pray, and hear from a couple of excited students.
Here’s our conversation with Emerson!
What kinds of missions work will REACH SM engage IN?
DIFREN FAMILY | FBC MISSIONARIES
On this trip, we will be partner with our FBC Missionaries, Sadrac and Sarah Difren, on the mission field in the Dominican Republic.
The primary focus that I’m emphasizing is evangelism. I want the students to be sharing their faith and the Gospel as much as they possibly can. It will be evangelism through the avenues of VBS and sports camp. They will have the opportunity to go into the villages and invite kids to VBS, to sports camp, and to church. Every group that goes out into the villages will have a translator. These invitation conversations are the window for students to share why these events are important, as well as to share their own personal testimonies of faith. During VBS and sports camps, the Gospel will be clearly presented, and students will serve in a shoulder-to-shoulder context. On one of the days, our team will feed the community a meal, and we will also have opportunity to support a ministry called Lily House that ministers to survivors of trafficking and exploitation. At the end of the week, we will have a large part in leading church services through testimonies and worship songs. It’s going to be a FULL week!
this trip is a HUGE extension of our church’s mission to Love God, Love People, and Influence our World with the Gospel of Christ. How do you think this trip will help that mission come alive for the students involved – in an even deeper way?
On the surface, most people think of a missions trip as “outreach” – and it totally is; we will have the opportunity to serve the local community there. It fits into our church’s mission to influence the world with the Gospel. But it doesn’t stop there.
Our primary focus in our mission at FBC is to EQUIP BELIEVERS…to love God, love people, and influence the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How does a short-term missions trip equip our students? Well, you have to do some things that push you out of your comfort zone in order to learn and be completely dependent on God. I know that each Gospel conversation our students have on the field will strengthen them to continue sharing Christ at home.
As these students’ pastor, I know that the more the students are selflessly giving, the greater the impact will be. If they can fully engage in selfless service, take in the experience, and learn as much as they possibly can, they will be changed in a way that directly impacts the amount of influence they will have in our own community here in REACH, but also in their own communities at school, in their extracurricular activities, in their sports teams, or whatever it is that they’re doing.
What are some of your prayers for the students who are participating?
I pray for an authentic passion for the Lord as they return – that something would click in their faith that really makes it their own and that they would develop this urgency to share and spread the Gospel.
I also pray for camaraderie within the team. A healthy community and bond is always super special. My prayer is that this would carry over into our ministry, where our vision is to foster a culture where everyone knows they are wanted, welcome, and loved.
How HAS YOUR PRIOR INVOLVEMENT WITH SHORT-TERM MISSIONS impactED your life & ministry?
God has always placed an emphasis on evangelism in my life. In high school I went on two missions trips within the same year – one to Chicago, and one to the D.R. The trip to the D.R. was VBS focused, so I was communicating the love of Christ through my actions, body language, and through interacting with the kids. You can’t talk with them because of the language barrier, but you can play with them. They’re overjoyed that you’re there, and they have the biggest smiles on their faces. My experience in inner-city Chicago was the opposite. You’ve got this kid with a hardened exterior, an iPhone, and an Apple watch, not conveying happiness that you’re there…but you get to directly share the Gospel in conversation. The kids in the D.R. had so little, and they’re joyful. The kid in Chicago “had everything” and was so broken.
The need for Christ – and for the church – is the same in both contexts, but it’s revealed in very different ways. Regardless of appearances or perceptions, whether people have much or very little, all of us are in need of the grace of Jesus.
HOW WOULD YOU ASK THE FBC FAMILY TO PRAY SPECIFICALLY?
Please pray for a softening of the hearts of people that we will encounter, that the Lord would already start preparing them to receive the Gospel. (Of course, we want to see the harvest, but we understand that sometimes we are seed planters.) I would love for my kids to see transformation and have a conversation with someone that accepts Jesus! We don’t know who those people are but God does.
Please pray for as many opportunities to share the Gospel as possible. For example, when we go to the villages and go door-to-door, pray that we are able to share personal testimonies of faith with entire families. Pray that God would maximize our reach.
Please pray for safety. Pray that God goes before us and gives us safe passage as we travel internationally, as well as on the ground in the Dominican Republic.
Thank you for lifting up our team in prayer!
WE ASKED A COUPLE OF STUDENTS, “WHAT ARE TWO THINGS ABOUT THE TRIP THAT REALLY EXCITE YOU!?”
“I’m so excited to see how God works differently in everybody’s lives and especially to see how He will push me out of my comfort zone to further His Kingdom! I’m also super excited just to be with the kids and love on them like Jesus calls us to! (And a bonus is that I’m excited for the food because it’s so so good! 🤩)” - Brooke Coursen
“Being able to go out of the country for my first time and to learn about what the culture is like in other countries; to be able to use the talents God has given me to serve others!” - Luke Kaminer
We can’t wait to see how God is going to use these students to advance the Kingdom and win hearts over for Jesus!
EMERSON BANDEMER | STUDENT PASTOR
Emerson Bandemer is the Student Pastor at FBC. Emerson is most passionate about helping students become a vital part of the body of Christ. Though teenagers are young, God still wants to use them to expand His Kingdom, today. Not when they’re older, not next year, not tomorrow, but today! Emerson and his wife, Cara, met in college. They have three beautiful kids, Rilynn, Beckham, and Lainey. In his free time, he likes to spend quality time with his family, play with his kids, watch sports, smoke meat, eat smoked meat, and stay active!