Bear Valley Church

Erich Shore
Bear Valley Community Church; Colleyville, TX
Youth Volunteer Leader

I love coming to Mission First every year. I’m not sure if it is seeing all the smiling faces, the many lives that are being touched, or just witnessing the tremendous progress and growth that occurs every year but something draws me to this place annually. It is amazing to see continued building and improvement in this community and I am certain I can see God’s hand on all that is going on here.

We have brought a group of teenagers to Mission First for six out of the last seven years. We sometimes struggle getting teenagers to sign up for camp or for other summer events, but our most attended event in the summer is our mission trip to Mission First. God truly blesses our relationships when we work side by side with other believers. This trip is the final youth trip of the summer and God uses our time here to bring us together in ways I cannot even begin to describe.

The first time I came to Mission First I couldn’t have imagined the tremendous love that God is sharing in this community. It amazes me to see many of the same young smiling faces each year and it touches my heart that God has provided the young people in this community such great resources and positive influences in this inner city Jackson community. It especially warms my heart to see the young kids that we taught in VBS just a few short years ago are turning into today and tomorrow’s leaders.

God continues to bless our church by allowing us to be a part of the many efforts in Jackson. We have cut grass, demolished houses, built and painted. We have also taught VBS, prayed with kids, loved, laughed, grown spiritually and yes, even cried. My sincere hope is that God will continue to use Mission First to bless this community and that he will continue to allow Bear Valley Church to be some small part of the efforts in Jackson for many years to come.