Mission Teams at Their Finest in Pennsylvania

I enjoyed traveling to our partner state of Pennsylvania the last week of June 2025. There, I witnessed three North Carolina mission teams at their finest!

Pastor Tim Trexler once again led a team from Mount Sinai Baptist in Shelby. The talented team, composed of adults and youth, conducted a “park party” outreach in Middletown, PA. This was an effort of Valley Baptist to reach out to their surrounding community. Later in the week the team served with our friend Bob Conrad at Covenant Community Church in Harrisburg. The team did some repairs and landscaping at Grace House, a ministry that reaches the many children and families in nearby housing developments. The team also had a great time doing VBS-type activities with the children here.

Trexler shares, “I was thrilled to see our team members sharing their faith with individuals, praying over people they met, seizing divine appointments, sharing witness bracelets, and simply being zealous for good works morning, noon and night!”

Thank you Mount Sinai, for your nine years of commitment to this strategic partnership area.

Carpenter’s Hands brought three large teams in back to back to back weeks to serve at Riverbend Church in Bethlehem PA. Riverbend recently acquired a very large church facility in a strategic area of downtown Bethlehem. Though ripe with potential, the building needs a lot of work! That is where Carpenter Hands and their volunteers are genius! Led by our friend Mike Nelson, the crews jump in and tackle the most difficult of tasks. Riverbend pastor Joe Velarde—a real fireball himself—was thrilled to have the teams come help! The teams work hard, they worship hard after hours, and generally enjoy fellowshipping and serving together. Thank you Carpenter’s Hands, for taking on the hard jobs!

A bit further north, a team from FBC Icard, NC drove up to participate in the Pennsylvania/South Jersey Convention’s annual “Serve” initiative. This year it was “Serve Wilkes-Barre”. Churches from all over Pennsylvania—and few “outsiders” such as the FBC Icard team—spread out all over the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton areas for a wide variety of service and ministry projects. Led by pastor Michael Pardue, the team was welcomed with open arms by Rev. Stan Oschman and the PLAID church in Jenkins Township, PA. They shared the Gospel through door to door visitation, block party events, and community service. Thanks Michael and team!

Mission partners are needed each year in Pennsylvania/South Jersey for projects such as the ones above! Evangelism, outreach events, children’s ministry, and construction needs can all be found on the current projects list found on the Pennsylvania webpage. Each request represents church planters, pastors, and congregations who are asking for help in reaching their communities for Christ.

If your church has been involved in furthering God’s kingdom in Pennsylvania—thank you! If not yet, please pray about how God might use your team here!

– Mark Abernathy, Consultant for Partnership Missions, Baptists on Mission

Learn more here.