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ATLANTA – What started as a Sunday morning missions sermon turned into one of the most meaningful trips ever taken by some members of Neill’s Creek Baptist Church in Angier, N.C.

Last winter Eric Bebber, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel, was invited to speak as part of a missions event sponsored by the church’s local Baptist association. After Bebber spoke about his ministry among the poor in Washington D.C., youth minister Trent Sessoms thought the location would be great for a church mission experience.

"The church had never done a mission trip where they had gone out of the state," Sessoms said. "I really want to give the youth and the church a new experience, and this sounded like something that would be really good for our church to do."

Through its face2face speakers’ bureau, the Fellowship connects churches with field personnel, such as Bebber, and other speakers who share about the Fellowship’s ministries and how churches can become vital partners in ministry around the world. Often the partnership grows to firsthand participation, where a church sends a team of people to serve alongside field personnel.

Last summer Neill’s Creek did just that, sending a group of 15 people to Washington, D.C., where they helped prepare meals at a homeless shelter, helped patients at a mental health facility, worked at a women’s shelter and delivered food to senior citizens.

And although they only stayed a week, the trip had a lifetime impact on those involved.

"This church is coming from a very rural setting, so this allowed us to step out of our comfort zones and meet people we would never encounter and do things we might not normally have done," said the church’s former pastor George Sipek Jr., who traveled with the team.

"I had some of the kids come up to me and say, ‘I don’t want to leave yet.’ Some of them told me they wouldn’t forget this trip," Sessoms said. "This trip really put us in the middle of doing ministry with other people – talking with them, finding out their story and sharing love with them."

Because of this trip, Sessoms said the church hopes to do an annual mission experience.

Missions speakers are available year-round and can be matched according to a church’s interests and ministry priorities. To schedule a speaker for your church, contact Amy Morris at (800) 352-8741 or amorris@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.