Serve the City: A Fresh Approach to Youth Missions

Fifteen years ago, when I was just getting started as a youth pastor, Jeremy Gligora had a vision for a youth missions trip. That vision came to life, and today Serve the City is still going strong. Both a missions trip and summer camp experience for youth, STC is affordable, accessible, impactful, transformational, and takes place right here in our great city of Columbus.

Jeremy (now lead pastor at Christian Assembly) and a collaborative group of youth pastors came together to start this so that their youth would learn how to be missional in an experiential way. They also wanted it to be rooted in the city where the students live. STC is a collaborative effort put on by four churches (Christian Assembly, Linworth Road Church, Life Vineyard Church, CC Church) and our friend CJ Buchan over at the Dream Center.

Planning for STC starts in January between the partner churches and their staff. The date is set early in the year and the countdown to early bird pricing begins. Among the team of youth pastors, one person is in charge of theme and merch, one coordinates outreaches by calling ministries and assigning those outreaches to teams, one takes on registration and website, and the team supports each other in the effort. We heavily market STC at our respective youth groups.

For four days, over 150 students and leaders from the partner churches come together for a lock-in at Christian Assembly to grow spiritually and serve humbly in Columbus. We constructed 15 teams with 10 people on each: two leaders to eight students. The daily schedule involves worship, devotional time, service projects, evangelism, Bible teaching, free time and games.

Outreaches include visits to shelters and food pantries, hosting community block parties, our "famous" $1 car washes (we give a dollar to the driver and ask how we can pray for them), Spirit-led worship where teams are given cash to use after praying and receiving direction from the Lord, and many other experiences. This year, for the first time, we targeted a specific neighborhood where some of our students lived. We did a community clean up project, removing trash from an overused alley and beautified five homes through outdoor landscaping for elderly and injured residents. At STC '26, we accomplished nearly 50 outreaches in three days.

Our church, Christian Assembly, has a commercial kitchen, an incredible volunteer team led by Pastor Laurie, and the space to host! Through our partnership and shared use of the building with Tree of Life Middle School, we have ample space for housing the students, feeding them, and keeping them engaged during free hours. And each church has a really strong volunteer base on their youth teams. Without committed leaders who create the margin for leading youth, this doesn't

happen.

When a student comes to STC, they learn how to share their faith and pray for others. First they are taught. Then they are urged to try. By the end of the week, the fear subsides. The smiles become authentic. And the zeal to help others builds exponentially. My observation? The joy of the Lord increased by leaps and bounds in the hearts of students as they served and gave to others. It was really special to witness! This went beyond experiences to discipleship.

The little things are what made the week special. One of the biggest responsibilities of the week for leaders was "encouragement notes." Every student and leader had their own mailbox to receive notes from others. During free time, it was very common to see leaders (if not conversing with students) sitting with their Bibles open and a stack of notes they were writing to fellow leaders and the students on their teams. This was by far the task I spent the most time on all week...and it was totally worth it.

I've been in youth-related ministries for 15 years. It's wild to think that when I started cutting my teeth in this line of work, there were youth pastors coming together to start something special like this. I first want to honor them for their "yes" and celebrate their sustained excellence over the years. And the fruit is astounding! Serve the City was such a catalyst for the summer months, an inspiration to everyone in our youth departments, and frankly it was a rallying point for the whole church to serve the Lord.

STC is a beautiful thing and I'm grateful to now play a part in its story!

Would you like to be a part of the story as well? Here are a few ways you can help:

• Volunteer next summer

• Let us know if we can help your organization during an outreach

• Collaborate with churches in your area to start your own Serve the City

Please email me if you are interested in being a part of this incredible youth missions experience! Jason[at]christianassembly[dot]com.