A prayer for more extensive outreach in the Auburn-Lewiston area of Maine grew into a local mission trip that brought believers together from across the Northeast, and far beyond, to reach thousands of homes with the gospel.
Cherith Hickman, a graduate of Streams of Light Training Institute, now serves as a Bible worker in the Auburn-Lewiston area. Burdened to find new ways to connect her local churches with their communities, Cherith began praying for an opportunity to organize a concentrated outreach effort. Soon, plans began taking shape for a mission trip hosted by local churches in the area.
From the beginning, the project required faith. Housing, food, transportation, volunteers, and outreach logistics all had to come together. A nearby church in Turner, Maine, opened its facilities to house participants, even completing a shower installation in time for the mission. Mattresses were made available through the conference, and unexpected donations of food donated following young adult retreat helped reduce what could have been a roughly $3,000 food expense down to approximately $500.
Volunteers came not just from the local area in Maine, but also from New Hampshire, Boston, Iowa, Canada, Bermuda, and Brazil. Approximately 35 missionaries went into the field each day.
In roughly 13 hours of outreach, the group distributed between 6,000 and 7,000 “Packets of Hope” containing The Great Controversy and a health magazine and generated about 60 Bible study interests. The Auburn and Lewiston churches were already prepared to follow up with those contacts, allowing the mission trip to become more than a one-time distribution event.
For Cherith, the experience also challenged a common perception that people in the Northeast are unreceptive to spiritual things.
“People are so open,” she shared. “When we go to people and show them that we care for them, like Christ did … they are open.” Her conclusion was simple: “If we have workers here, we will have a harvest.”
The mission also demonstrated what can happen when local churches decide to move forward in faith. Even a short-notice packing event brought approximately 50 volunteers together to prepare materials, encouraging Cherith early on that God can provide the people and resources needed at the right time.
For Streams of Light Training Institute, the outreach is also an encouraging picture of how the vision to place one book in every home is being multiplied through its graduates: equipping workers who return to the field, strengthen local churches, and help mobilize believers to reach their own communities.
As Cherith reflected, one does not need to wait to participate in a mission trip event somewhere else.
“You can do this even in your local area.”