One Week Can Change Lives

As followers of Jesus, we are called to serve our community and give back. Chapel of the Cross has done just that with their junior high and high school students through workcampNE. They put into practice 1 Peter 4:10:

In 1 Peter, he says:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 

Chapel of the Cross students lived out this verse out during their one-week workcampNE session.  

The leaders at Chapel of the Cross were praying that the students would connect more deeply with God, serve the residents of the community that they visited, and that they would actively share the message of the Gospel. 

Due to the pandemic, Chapel of the Cross was unable to attend workcampNE in the New Hampshire and Vermont communities as they had been doing for the past four years. 

Yet God still paved a way for Chapel of the Cross to serve through workcampNE, but this time in their own community of Westborough, MA. 

To make this work, Chapel of the Cross had the entire church involved, making this a multi-generational service event. There were 50 adult volunteers there to help with dinner for the students, set up, and clean up the facility.  

This was not only a new process for Chapel of the Cross, but for workcampNE. Chapel of the Cross saw the opportunity that God put in front of them to spearhead a new process of serving through workcampNE. This obedience of continuing to serve through the unknown of the pandemic opened potential doors for the future of workcampNE. 

Last summer, Chapel of the Cross hosted workcampNE alone. This year, three additional churches partnered with Chapel of the Cross. 

A total of 90 campers, many of them coming from Chapel of the Cross, spent their days serving in their local community. After a long day working on challenging labor projects such as building a deck or landscaping, the students returned to worship God together.  

In just one week, Chapel of the Cross students completed 18 projects. 

The connections that these students made meant as much to them as it did to the community members. These students had faith in God’s ultimate plan and invited those that they had served to their final worship service after camp. This year, 7 families attended the worship service, and the Gospel was shared with them. At the end of the worship service, each guest family received a Bible. This not only blessed these students but blessed the community around them. 

One week can change lives.  

Director of Student Ministries, Josh King, shared with me that this week resulted in many students diving deeper into their relationship with Christ.  

He recalls that one student said to him, “I am so glad I'm a Christian. We get to live in such a powerful community. And make such an impact."

After they witnessed the way that God worked through them to make an impact, the students felt called to volunteer and serve at Chapel of the Cross. 

For more information on Chapel of the Cross and WorkCampNE, email Director of Student Ministries, Josh King or visit their website.