LOCAL MISSIONS

Homefront WeekLAKE NORMAN, NC

Dates: TBD – 5 days in late JulyCost: TBD – approx. $50/person

Recommended Age: School-aged Children and Older

Urban PlungeCHARLOTTE

Dates: TBD – Spring and FallCost: $100

*Required Age: 13 and Older

Local Summer TourLINCOLN & MECKLENBURG

COUNTIESDates: TBD – Summer

Cost: none*Recommended Age: varies

Want to ignite or reinvigorate your family to love others in Jesus’ name? Join other families within the LFC tribe as we focus on mission in our own backyard for five days in July. Each day, we will serve with and support local ministries with whom LFC partners throughout the year. Examples of some of what we did last year include sorting clothing at a ministries center, visiting the elderly and disabled in an assisted living community, and helping put on a soccer camp for the Huntington Green Latino community. Get a look at different groups and cultures in Lake Norman and see how God’s heart beats to reach them through His church’s mission. Families will be encouraged to envision together what God’s mission looks like in their lives at home. We will encourage one another to be intentional about reaching and inviting those in our immediate communities into relationship with us and Jesus.

If you would like to be included in the Homefront Week interest list so you can receive more information when it is available, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

The Urban Plunge is essentially a three-day mission trip to Charlotte. Come and see how God’s heart beats for those living in an urban context in Charlotte. The team will live, learn, serve, and worship together in the city. Participants will visit various ministries throughout the city, seeing firsthand what God is doing in Charlotte. The team will also have the opportunity to meet with people served by these various ministries and to serve through several of them.

If you would like to be included in the Urban Plunge interest list so you can receive more information when it is available, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

Looking for some ways to serve this summer? Want to get introduced to some of our local partner ministries? We’ll highlight a number of local ministry partnerships, so that whether you’re able to serve one day, one week, or regularly throughout the summer, you will still get the chance to discover and experience what God is doing in our community. Details about the specific opportunities will be released in late May or early June.

If you would like to be included in the Local Summer Tour interest list so you can receive more information when it is available, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

LAKE FOREST CHURCH

LONG ISLAND, BAHAMASPENA BLANCA, HONDURAS

COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA

INDIALAKE NORMAN, NCCHARLOTTE, NC

2016 cross cultural missions

Why do we GO on the missio Dei?

The missio Dei is God’s mission to call all peoples to Himself through the global church. Jesus calls his church to be on the missio Dei every day wherever we are, and He also commands us to GO and join God’s mission in other cultures and places. Even though we may have major cultural and other differences, in GOing, we show that we share one Lord in Jesus Christ and one mission to the world. We realize that we are a part of a much larger story in which God calls us to have a role. What will be your role on the missio Dei in another culture and place?

Short-term mission trips are spiritual-growth accelerators and will be most transformational to those who understand their trip as a part of a much larger story of God’s mission as it is written in the Scriptures and in their every-day lives. Our goal is that everyone within the Lake Forest tribe will be engaged in cross- cultural mission work as a way to discover and live out their role in God’s story.

We believe the fullest and most obedient expression of joining the missio Dei is within the context of long-term, sustained engagement. However, we cannot do this with a one-week trip. So we partner with local churches and missions organizations who are called to engage in the lives of a particular vulnerable group of people the other 51 weeks of the year. Our role is to support them and their mission the week we are there and to continue our love and support even after the trip is over. Our trips especially focus on engaging the vulnerable, unreached and overlooked within these societies such as orphans, widows, the homeless, and the homebound.

Take the Next Steps...

Please seek God’s direction, through prayer and talking with family and wise friends, as to whether this is a year that you should GO on a trip or actively send others through prayers/financial gifts.

• Come to an interest meeting at one of our campuses early in the year (see dates on the insert or listen to the announcements at your campus).

• Contact missiontrips@lakeforest.org if you would like to talk to someone about one of our trips. We can try to set you up with someone who has been on a trip before.

• Visit the missio Dei blog at www.lakeforest.typepad.com/missiodei/ to view reflections and pictures from last year’s trips.

“Every follower of Jesus is called to engage in the missio Dei cross-culturally. Short-term mission trips are a way to explore your role in God’s story through the lens of another culture and place. We GO together in expectation that the Holy Spirit will transform us and call us into life-long engagement on His mission.”

~ Andy Muhich, missio Dei Team Leader

Here’s where God is leading us in 2016…

GLOBAL MISSIONS

Caribbean Youth NetworkLONG ISLAND BAHAMASJune 18-25, 2016Cost: $1,800 Deposit: $450Application/Deposit Due on 2/28/16Required Age: 11 and older

Join one of our partner missionaries, Gabe Swing, as he ministers to teens through the Caribbean Youth Network. You will have the opportunity to assist with work projects for the youth or underprivileged and/or develop a unique Christian Camp (music, art, sports, etc.) experience for the kids. Come make a Bohemian friend and encourage a teenager in their walk with the Lord through a game, a craft or a song. Help make repairs on one of their homes and help to build up the island which was recently devastated by hurricane Joaquin.

Check out CYN: www.caribbeanyouthnetwork.org

If you would like to be included in the CYN - Bahamas Trip interest list so you can receive announcements and reminders, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

Children’s Impact Network: PENA BLANCA, HONDURASJuly 9-16, 2016Cost: $1,800 Deposit: $450Application/Deposit Due on 3/13/16Recommended Age: 11 and older

Join Children’s Impact Network (CIN) as they love former orphans in Honduras who now have a home and a family. Play with the children and assis Honduras Field Ministries Coordinators, Melvin & Mary Flores in the development of the orphanage site. Partner with the local church in “Project Impact,” a prayer and outreach program to poor communities that lack basic necessities like clean drinking water. Participate in “Sidewalk Sunday School,” a mobile children’s ministry program to communities in need of the gospel. Play games, sing songs, perform skits and kick a soccer ball with children from these communities.

Check out CIN: www.cinonline.org

If you would like to be included in the CIN – Honduras Trip interest list so you can receive announcements and reminders, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

Children’s Impact Network: BoliviaCOCHABAMBA, BOLIVIAJuly 15-24, 2016Cost: $2,000 Deposit: $500Application/Deposit Due on 3/13/16Recommended Age: 11 and older

Join Children’s Impact Network (CIN) as they love orphaned boys in Bolivia. Come and be a visiting “tio” or “tia” (aunt or uncle) and stay in an apartment in their home called the Bolivia Life Center. Engage in the ritual known as “tickle time” before bed with the younger boys, come be a part of their pizza party, enjoy a dance performance by the boys, and tell stories around the bonfire. Help with projects around the Bolivia Life Center and partner with the local church in “Sidewalk Sunday School,” a mobile children’s ministry program to communities in need of the gospel. Play games, sing songs, perform skits and kick a soccer ball with children from these communities.

Check out CIN: www.cinonline.org

If you would like to be included in the CIN – Bollivia Trip interest list so you can receive announcements and reminders, e-mail missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info.

Asia’s HopeINDIATBD Fall/Winter 2016Cost: TBD ~$3,000Recommended Age: 16 and older

For many years LFC has taken on the full support of one orphanage with our partners Asia’s Hope. This will be a small team designed to strengthen that partnership, encourage the staff, love on the children, and bring back stories and pictures to share with the many people at LFC who care about these orphans. This trip has not yet been planned but we are hoping to go in the fall/winter of 2016.

Check out pictures and stories of our home: http://asiashope.org/blog/?tag=Kalimpong%201

Trip Name Dates Application /Deposit Due Cost

Homefront Week – Lake Norman TBD – 5 days in late July TBD TBD ~$300

per family

Urban Plunge - Charlotte TBD – 3 day weekend Spring/Fall TBD $100

Summer Tour -Lake Norman/Charlotte

One-time opportunities in Late June

None – Just sign up on Sign Up Genius in June None

Trip Name Dates Application/Deposit Due Cost

CYN – Bahamas June 18-25 Feb 28 $1,800

CIN – Honduras July 9-16 Mar 13 $1,800

CIN – Bolivia July 15-24 Mar 13 $2,000

Asia’s Hope – India Fall/Winter TBD TBD TBD ~$3,000

2016 Lake Forest Church Cross Cultural MissionsImportant Dates and Details

Global Missions

Local Missions

*If you would like to be included on a trip interest list to receive announcements and reminders about trips, e-mail: missiontrips@lakeforest.org with your contact info and the trip you are interested in.

The Nitty GrittyApplication: This is straightforward and can be completed online at lakeforest.org/get-involved/tripsTeam Meetings: You are signing up to GO as part of a team. We use these meetings to prepare both spiritually and logistically. So we ask for the whole team’s sake that you make these meetings a priority. The whole team has a better experience when each member contributes to the team before, during and after the trip.Personal Deposit: We ask that each participant make a 25% personal deposit up front with their application. This helps us be able to make advanced financial commitments to airlines and our partners. We have also found that the trip experience is best for everyone when participants have made a personal financial investment.Fundraising: Each participant is responsible for ensuring that the full cost of their trip is covered. This may be done through personally giving to LFC’s mission trip fund or by fundraising through your friends and family. All funds given toward mission trips are tax-deductible gifts. We will offer you tools and help in fundraising, and you will be able to see how much funding you have raised.First-Time Participants: In order to support first-time participants in their fundraising efforts, whatever is not raised, LFC will cover up to 25% of the trip cost (this applies to international trips only).Fundraising Due Dates: In order to ensure we have the funds on hand to cover costs for the teams, we set dates by which you will need to have 50% and 100% of your funds raisedFinancial Issues: We never want finances to be the only reason why someone cannot go on a trip, so please let us know if any of this is too much of a burden and we will try to work with you on an individual plan.

*Questions? E-mail: missiontrips@lakeforest.org Flip page for more information on due dates and trip meetings

*if you are interested in a local trip and would like more information when it is available, please contact missiontrips@lakeforest.org

Timeline for Global Missions

Due Dates by Trip:

Key Meeting Dates for Global Missions:Westlake: Learn about trips and details.

Huntersville & Davidson: Trip Interest Meetings Learn about trips and details after 2nd services (12pm)

LFC All-Trips MeetingMeet Your Team, Fundraising and Finances, Spiritual Prep

Team-Specific MeetingsTeam Bonding, Trip-Specific Projects, Spiritual Prep

LFC All-Trips MeetingSpiritual Prep, Mission Training

Celebration & Reflection

CYN - Bahamas CIN - Honduras CIN - Bolivia

App/Deposit Due Feb 28 Mar 13 Mar 13

50% Fundraising Mar 25 May 2 May 2

100% Fundraising Apr 22 May 27 May 27

Sunday, Jan, 31

Sunday, February 14

Sunday, June 5

TBD - August

TBD (Set by Team Leaders)

Sunday, March 13