A Bounce student missions team was prepared to serve in Mora County, N.M., assisting with recovery efforts resulting from the 2022 Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and post-fire floods. However, recent water contamination and flooding steered them to be a different community’s “answered prayer.”
Earlier this month, 100 middle school through college students were redirected to Claremore, Okla., to assist in relief efforts following tornadoes that blew through the community in June.
God opened up another door
Noah Doley, a high school senior at Faith Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, said the most important part of his Bounce experience was being able to adapt to the week’s changes along with his team.
“I think we were all kind of excited that God opened up another door for us,” Doley said. “We were just excited to help out the community of Claremore in any way we could.”
The students helped the community with disaster response tasks such as debris and tree removal.
David Scott, director of Bounce, said the students’ adaptability and hard work was encouraging to see as they served the community.
“The kids have worked really hard and had a really great attitude just stepping in and helping, assisting with the community,” Scott said. “Our approach has always been, ‘We’re going to do whatever the community needs,’ and that’s what they’re doing.”
Missional their entire life
Celebrating its 10th year as a ministry of Texas Baptists, Bounce offers student ministry leaders the opportunity to mobilize their middle school, high school and college students to engage in challenging mission service and inspiring times of worship.
Bounce’s strategy always has been to do things that are going to encourage students to be missional beyond the week, Scott said.
“As we like to say, we want them to ‘Bounce’ back home and find opportunities to be missional their entire life,” Scott said. “That’s why we do worship. Through our worship experience, we’re trying to help them understand the value of mission service to cultivate a love for missions and ministry in their life.”
Doing this to show God’s love
Riley Cooper, another high school senior at Faith Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, said her team was OK with all of the changes and were willing to be flexibile because they recognized their work was all for God’s glory and none of their own.
“We don’t think that just because we’re teenagers that we can’t help in all the ways that we could. We’re doing this for God and doing this to show God’s love,” Cooper said.
Bounce offers two types of mission opportunities for students: disaster recovery/community rehab and church planting.
Student disaster recovery/community rehab opportunities allow students to help rebuild communities and reflect Christ in areas impacted by disasters or where homes are in need of rehabilitation through hands-on construction mission projects.
Student church planting opportunities allow students to serve with church plants for significant ministry that not only assists church plants and planters, but also cultivates an appreciation and love for church planting in the lives of participants.
Students also receive training in sharing the gospel, and Scott said his hope is that they would come out of the week able to share with confidence.
Scott extended his gratitude to the Bounce supporters in Oklahoma who helped coordinate service projects for the students and to First Baptist Church of Inola for opening up their facilities to house students that assisted with recovery efforts.
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