In 2002, our oldest child, Talia, was graduating high school. Whatever final touches we wanted to put on the parenting process, this was our last chance. We wanted our kids to really get God’s heart for his children scattered around the world. I thought it would be great to go to some poor community in the world to see if what we said we believed actually worked.
Every morning I’d gather with the four oldest kids and we’d study the book of Acts. We used Peter Wagner’s book, The Acts of the Holy Spirit.
2001 was a momentous year for our nation. The twin towers had crashed and most people responded in fear. But as the Bible says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear…” (2 Tim 1:7) Our kids were growing up in a dangerous world, but I felt God whispering to me, “Make them more dangerous in me than the world in which they’re being raised.”
As we studied the book of Acts, we saw God taking a ragtag group of disciples who had been absorbed by fear and transforming them into world changers.
At the end of the year, I asked our kids, “After studying the book of Acts, how would you like to see if God’s plan to reach the world still works like it did for the disciples?”
They said, “Yeah, how will we do that?”
I said, “Let’s pray and see if God will lead us somewhere in the world – maybe to a poor community that is hungry for God.”
So, that’s what we did. And as we prayed, we heard the Lord say, “Go to Peru. Pray for the sick, preach the Gospel, and plant churches.”
I reached out to some of their friends to see if they would go with us. In the end we took 21 people to Peru for a month. We targeted a community built in the desert near Lima.
We divided into three teams. My team went to a neighborhood called Zapallal. One day we met a woman named Secundina. she invited us into her home and told us her story.
Towards the end, she said, “I don’t know what to do, I have pancreatic cancer.”
We asked if we could pray for her. And every day we continued to go back to her house and pray for her. Later, when she went to the doctor for an examination, he said, “I don’t understand this – there is no trace of the cancer!”
23 years later, Secundina is still alive and the church that started in her home is still meeting, one of five churches we planted that summer. My kids and their friends saw that the God we see in Acts is the same God working around the world today. They saw that he still heals and answers crazy prayers.
A number of those on the trip had their lives permanently changed. Miguel moved to the D.R., sensing that God wanted him to plant churches in villages without one. Today he is still there and his ministry continues to expand. Another participant, Aaron, is helping transform our nation’s educational system. His sister, Alisha, is a vice president for strategy at Aflac Insurance. And if you looked at the other participants, you’d see the experience of that mission trip continues to ripple out in their lives.
Our kids need experience with the God of Acts
I learned something on this trip. Yes, we’d gone to church with our kids all their lives. We’d studied the Bible and prayed. But they needed to put their faith at risk to see if it was real. Growing up in our cynical, risk-averse culture is hard. I learned that young people deserve the opportunity to encounter the world’s pain and see if God shows up.
Going with them on this trip was such a gift. It deepened our relationship and when they saw God radically heal people like Secundina, what could they do but worship him?
23 years later, we’re so proud of our kids. We love watching them take the lessons they learned as children and pass them on to their kids.
If you’re a young person who has never put your faith to the test to see if it looks like the book of Acts, feel free to reach out to me
here and I’ll connect you with opportunities (
here are a few). And if you’re a parent who wants to equip your child with a resilient faith, I’d be happy to help you as well. Trusting your kids to go on a mission trip and see if God will show up is one of the best things you can do for them.
I would love to take my family on a mission trip through AIM, or other ministry. My oldest is nearing the end of her world race. I got to join her on the PVT. I’ve been looking for something to jump start my older kids. I believe it is important to do ministry as a family. It offers a chance for a different kind of bond.
Amen! Our toxic world needs the antidote of faith in action. Let me know if I can help you with ideas, Katie.
Thanks, Seth. l remember son Samuel and l going to Matamoros with AIM.
Amen! I couldn’t agree more, Seth. All 9 of our kids have been part of teams praying and visiting neighbors and sharing the good news of Jesus with Miguel and his family in the DR. And all of our kids would point to their time in the DR as pivotal and catalytic in their own walk with Jesus. Thank you for shaping Miguel’s life. Your influence is bearing fruit in my family, and I am asking God for that same kind of Kingdom ripple effect in my life!
What a great legacy you have, Stacy! Thanks for your partnership through Miguel and his family.
I am leading an AIM disaster relief trip this week in NC! My kids are here with us, ages 10 and 12! They LOVE it.
It was great to see you and Andrew and your girls thriving there, Kelly.