We are sending our middle and high school youth, along with three chaperones, on a service learning trip to Columbia, MO in June 2026. This trip is in partnership with Be the Neighbor. The total cost per participant is approximately $775. Each family is contributing for their participant and we are fundraising to balance our budget. We appreciate your support!

An Invitation from Our Youth:

Be the church! This statement is something that we, the youth of our church, hear often. We use some of the actions associated with being the church, like forgiving our siblings. But other actions seem much more complex and confusing, we don’t always know how to care for the poor, or fight for the powerless.

By attending the Be the Neighbor service-learning trip this summer we will not only help others by participating in a service project, but also, learn how we can return to our church with a new awareness, understanding, and vision to work for justice in our community. Allowing us to Be the Church!

Please consider making a contribution, to help us experience this amazing learning and growth opportunity and be able to make our church stronger when we return.

More Info from Be the Neighbor:

Disabilities are a unique category of life experience, which directly impact some 1 billion people, and many more by personal extension. Yet, the church often struggles to speak directly to the concept of disabilities, failing to address accommodation needs within their congregations, community-oriented justice needs, and points of advocacy.

Groups participating in Columbia, MO (COMO)’s Disability Justice, Advocacy, and Inclusion week will learn about the concept of disability from a Disciples-focused theological perspective, identify barriers to justice, and begin the process of developing a voice for advocacy and inclusion in their own contexts. Your group will have the opportunity to learn from scholars working in academic disability theology fields and practitioners in disability support programs, work alongside local disability justice advocates, attend local political meetings pertaining to disability rights, and develop a critical lens for combating ableism in the church. The diversity of disabilities will be highlighted in working and worshiping alongside young adults with developmental disabilities and older adults with degenerative disabilities. Your group will have time to discern personal relationships with disabilities, their bodies, and their minds as they critique and reflect on concepts like ‘normalcy’ and ‘belonging,’ and will together uncover intersections of ability and race, gender, sexuality, and class. Groups will leave better equipped to work toward advocacy and inclusion, crafting a vision for disability justice in their own hearts, faith spaces, and communities.

Youth Service Learning Trip to Columbia, MO

By First Congregational United Church of Christ

Youth Service Learning Trip to Columbia, MO

Youth Service Trip - Donate