High School Mission Trip to New Orleans

I just got back from the Grace Chapel high school mission trip to New Orleans from July 2-9th. It was such a blessing to serve alongside six of our Wilmington students and the rest of the Grace Chapel team. The phrase that sticks out to me most is the "power of God." We were just surrounded by God's blessing and protection all week. Each student went on several "prayer walks" during the week; praying for the neighborhoods we were working in, and with the people who lived there. We were all just overwhelmed by how God worked in our hearts and through those conversations.

Students were also encouraged by the amount of work we accomplished as a team. We cleaned up a house that was demolished by a tornado, and cleaned, drywalled, and painted a half dozen homes in the city. We also threw two block parties in the city for our neighborhoods. It was a joy to see how hard all of them worked.

Thank you for your prayers during the week. If your student has never been on a mission trip, I would encourage them to join us next summer. It's an unforgettable opportunity to see God work, to be used to glorify Him, and to connect on a much deeper level with with a team.


Our whole team getting debriefed on day 1


Here is the small group team I was on (there were 6 in all) after a day of tornado cleanup.


This is our whole group in the lower 9th ward at the site where the levee broke.


One of the houses we worked on


A youth group from New York that we ran into and prayed with.



The students passing my camera around the van. We had 50 min drive into the city each day, including a 24 mile bridge (the world's longest continuous bridge over water).

Isaac Milton
Director of Youth Ministry

Summer at Wilmington

So much has happened here at Wilmington Campus since our opening day in May! Our new building feels full and alive with over 450 people attending our three services each week. We have even started our own Wilmington Campus tradition: a weekly picnic by the gazebo after church on Sundays!

For the summer, we have three Sunday morning services: 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am. It's been fun to have Bryan preach live from the Wilmington stage at the 8:00am service. Our Kidstown ministry is also in full swing, as is Fusion/Gravity. Recently, Isaac and several Gravity students went on a mission’s trip to New Orleans- stay tuned for a blog entry and pictures about their trip! This coming week, a group of Fusion Middle Schoolers will be headed on a trip to The Boston Project- please pray for them as they head into the heart of Dorchester for the next week.

As amazing as the summer has been, we have some great things to look forward to this fall. On September 11, come to Vision Sunday to hear about what our year holds- and to meet your future LIFE Community group! We hope to launch several Wilmington LIFE Communities this fall, and on September 11, we will have a LifeLink where you can meet leaders and check out the locations of this year’s groups. If you’re new to the Wilmington Campus, don’t miss our Welcome to Grace Reception on September 25 (after that 11am service). This is a chance to learn a little more about Grace Chapel and get to meet Pastor Tom and other members of the staff.

Thanks to everyone for your interest and involvement at the Wilmington Campus. See you Sunday!