This week we wanted to call attention to Mt. Pleasant Church of God, in Dillsburg, PA which was recently highlighted on a local news station, ABC27 News, for their community service. Called “Mission on the Mountain,” volunteers from the church went out into the local community and served individuals and families by doing landscaping and home maintenance.
The news station was live on the scene and captured footage and interviews of the event which we thought our denomination would want to see and share. We also interviewed Pastor Zack from Mt. Pleasant to get a deeper understanding of Mission on the Mountain. What surprised us was the level of planning and investment that goes into this event. Mt. Pleasant is truly blessing their community with practical help and with the message of Jesus Christ. Watch the ABC27 News video here, and read our interview with Pastor Zack Wilt below:
Mission on the Mountain Interview: With Pastor Zack Wilt
How did Mission on the Mountain get started?
In 2015 Steve Smith felt lead to take a group from Mt. Pleasant down to Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. Steve had gone there when he was a teenager growing up at a Methodist church and had fond memories of how it impacted him. Our hope was to send a group of eight people, God saw fit to gather a group of 41. When that group returned from their week at Red Bird they began to realize that there were homes, families, and situations right here in our area that were in desperate need of the same kind of care and work that they did there. After a season of prayer and seeking the Lord Mission on the Mountain was born!
How long has the church been doing Mission on the Mountain?
We launched MOTM in 2016. After missing two years for the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, we got back to it for the past three years bringing our total to 7 years.
How does the church pick the volunteer opportunities/people it's going to serve?
This process has evolved a bit over the life of MOTM and as leadership grows and changes. Starting around the beginning of the year we advertise in the local paper, Senior Centers, through parachurch organizations like New Hope Ministries and word of mouth. Folks who are interested in receiving help then fill out an application with a brief description of the work they'd like done. Our leadership team then makes home visits to meet the homeowners, get an eye on the work being requested and begin to formulate a sense of whether this is a job that can be completed in a week's time/with our skill set. We try to focus on accessibility issues (ramps, dilapidated stairs, porches, doors) and issues causing additional problems (roof leaks, plumbing issues). We typically average around 20 applications and wind up doing around 15 jobs a year. 2024 was our biggest year yet, we had 32 applications and were able to do 20 jobs.
How many volunteers served MOTM this year?
We had about 50 participants going to job sites every day. When you factor in kitchen help and visitation team the total is closer to 75 people.
How has the ministry impacted the volunteers?
The impact is felt on a number of levels.
Relationally: MOTM is a 24/7 experience for the week. Not only do crews go out to the job sites everyday, but many of them stay on the church property in travel trailers or bunk rooms set up in our buildings. This provides community and connection in the evenings as we share meals together, enjoy evening activities and opportunities for conversation. Additionally, the relationships the work crews are building with homeowners throughout the day are a major focus. Our hope is more importantly than bringing restoration to broken parts of a house, we will bring restoration through a relationship with Christ. Our visitation team meets multiple times to encourage the homeowners, offer a listening ear and share the Good News of Jesus with them.
Spiritually: MOTM at its core is about seeking the Kingdom! Our hope and desire is that we grow as disciples of Christ as we serve him as his hands and feet. We have group devotional times every morning and evening. Early in the week we spend an evening in worship and prayer over all of our homeowners. We close MOTM Friday evening with a meal inviting all our homeowners from the week to join us for dinner where we pray blessing over them and share the Gospel message.
Practically: One of the more subtle impacts that MOTM has on our volunteers is the sharing of practical skills and experiences. We've had volunteers who have never run power tools, learn how to use them under the guiding hands of a more experienced person. We've had volunteers who conquer fears like getting up on roofs and "getting dirty." We also know that a good day of hard work and "sweat equity" is good for the body and the soul.
How is the church hoping to grow/evolve/adapt MOTM in the future?
We would love to expand MOTM in two ways.
1) See it grow in its current setting and context. Smaller churches who maybe can't afford a short term missions trip every year can use MOTM as a way to have the experience with a little less travel and expense. Churches who have never done any type of week long service project could use it as a way to get their feet wet. With a little adjustment and extra planning we could easily host additional groups for the week at Mt. Pleasant.
2) As a blueprint for other regional MOTMs. Our area has expanded over the years as far as how far we will travel to do jobs—it all depends on the year and what jobs are being submitted, but there's a limit to how far it makes sense to travel. We try to arrive at the work sites by 8:30am and be back by 4:30pm. Adding too much travel time would limit the amount of time on site. We would love to see people come attend a year or two of MOTM and then use us as a resource to being something similar in their region.
How might others adapt MOTM into their own context? Even if they live say, in the flat plains of Ohio, Indiana, etc?
Certainly as I said above we'd love to see the vision of MOTM spread across our denomination, but beyond that I think it just boils down to asking God to identify the needs around you and the gifts within you. For us at MP we are blessed with a group of skilled blue collar folks who are able to take the skill sets they use in their 9-5's and apply it to the needs we saw around us. For your context it might be that you have food instability in your community and you have some really green thumb people, start a community garden/vegetable pantry program. Maybe you have a group of retired teachers or folks who are skilled in math and your community could benefit from an afterschool homework help program. The possibilities are kind of endless. The biggest thing is to seek the Lord's direction and have fun doing it—serving can be difficult at times, but at the end of the day this is a joyful thing to serve the Kingdom!
CGGC eNews—Vol. 18, No. 30
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