Higher Ground

“Spending a week at Lutherock with our church group was truly amazing,” says John, an adult leader from First Lutheran Church in Albemarle, North Carolina. “Everything worked together to create a wonderful environment for us to reflect, work, and grow.” The group of youth and adult leaders John was a part of came to Lutherock for last summer’s disaster response program. Staying onsite at Lutherock, the group served in the local community with organizations and among people who are still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Pastor James from First Lutheran says the congregation was looking for an opportunity to do a youth mission trip in an area affected by the fall 2024 storm. “Our youth have done other mission trips, going to impoverished communities and helping people there. This time we really wanted to help people in North Carolina.”

Throughout their disaster response week, the group from First Lutheran worked in a variety of settings. “We worked at a food pantry that had been impacted by flooding,” Pastor James shares. “We helped clean the property and build a new platform on higher ground for a storage shed.” The group also spent time working alongside local residents and hearing about their experiences. “Getting to know other volunteers and hearing some of their stories from the hurricane was really important to us. I feel like hearing stories and developing relationships was half of what we were there to do.”

This was the group’s first trip to Lutherock and Pastor James says they were all impressed by their time at camp. “It was a good week. A significant part of our experience was being there at Lutherock. We served offsite during the day, but when we came back to camp, we got to have that Lutherock camp experience. We really appreciated being a part of the culture of camp.”

The week at Lutherock serving in disaster response had a real impact on the group from First Lutheran. “They all want to go back,” Pastor James says of the youth in the group. “Our youth group grew closer together because of their experience.” Xeem, one of the youth from First Lutheran, summarized his time this way. “This mission trip showed me that serving others is serving Christ. It humbled me, deepened my gratitude, and helped me see every act of service as a way to live out God’s love.”

The youth group from First Lutheran will be back at Lutherock this coming summer to serve again and adult leader John sees the time at camp as an integral part of their ministry. “Seeing the positive interactions of all the participants last summer showed us the good work camps and congregations are doing with our youth,” John says. “I look forward to future visits and adventures at Lutherock!”