- May 5, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
‘We want to go to countries that are spiritually poor,’ leader said.
Eight people at Tomoka Christian Church, 1450 Hand Ave., hope to bring awareness for a mission trip to France at special worship service at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the church.
“There will be French food, music and stories … a night full of French culture,” said Honey Swihart, who leads the Worship Team. The free event will include an offering to support the trip and a French dinner will be available at 6 p.m. for $5.
The group is teaming up with Operation Mobilization, a world-wide Christian mission organization, and will stay in Marseille where their focus will be on sex-trafficking victims and children living in poverty.
The Friday event will include stories and testimonies of people who have been rescued from sex-trafficking.
They will join a team of 80 people in Marseille, from churches all over the world and different denominations.
“We will be building a team based on our gifts and talents,” Swihart said.
Marseille is a large port that plays a big role in sex trafficking in Europe, Swihart said. They will be working with those who have been rescued and help them adapt to normal life. Bible studies and introducing Christianity will be part of the process, as well as providing food, clothing and basic needs to children in the area living in poverty.
“We want to draw people in and share the message of Christ,” she said. “We want to give them love and hope.’
They also will perform concerts in the streets and “human video dramas,” where a song is played, and the performers act out the words using facial expressions and body language.
“It tells a story in a universal language,” Swihart said.
Barbara Shoner, who organized the trip, said they are also raising money with garage sales, car washes and sales at their thrift store.
She said another reason to go to France is that it is “underevenagelized,” because many people travel to countries that are economically poor.
“We want to go to countries that are spiritually poor … where others aren’t going,” she said.
Mission trips are an important part of Tomoka Christrian Church, Shoner said, and she has taken her three children on trips for 15 years. They have been to places such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Japan.
“Our goal is to reach out to the world,” she said. She said there are currently 17 missions being planned at the church, which currently has 3,000 members.
She said they often do a lot of work locally. For example, they have ministered at nursing homes and provided backpacks for the homeless.
“Jesus said go to all the world,” she said.
Call (615) 479-6644.
