Regeneration Student Choir: Mission Trip to New Orleans

By Kevin Batson, Worship Pastor

Thanks so much for praying for the Student Choir as we ministered and served in New Orleans in June. We could feel your prayers!

We worked each day through the “Mission Lab” at New Orleans Seminary. Our team of 32 students was divided in thirds. Each group had a morning assignment and an afternoon assignment. 

In each of these areas, students not only worked hard, but had conversations of encouragement for those leading the ministries, and conversations about the Lord with those they met. They were encouragers, witnesses, and ambassadors for Jesus. You should be proud of them. Diann Greer and all our leaders were awesome as well, working right beside the students in every ministry.

Pray for those we ministered to. Several folks who are fighting addiction come to mind – one guy I met had been clean for 30 days the day we talked, and had come to Christ at the very end of his recent incarceration. Through tears he asked that I pray that he would be strong this time and not relapse. So many stories like this!  Pray for the churches we worked with – many with the same problems we face, but in a place where both Catholicism and an “anything goes spirituality” are prevalent.

Each evening we had a service of worship and preaching, and then met in our teams to debrief. Long but fruitful days.

Thanks again for your prayers – we traveled 1700 miles with no problems, no sickness, no real issues. God is good!

Some of the ministries we were a part of:

• Excite All-Stars – non-profit day care program, where we hosted a full VBS and continued to help in the afternoon
• New Orleans Mission – drug addiction ministry, including a year long intensive discipleship program (currently there are 500+ men and women in the program); we worked in the pantry, clothing area, kitchen, and we sang for the daily worship service to over 60 men
• Bethel South Ministry – drug addiction ministry, providing jobs and therapy for men and women; we sorted clothes and assisted in the car wash, both of which provide funding for the program and income for those in it
• Baptist Friendship House – ministry to homeless people, provided clothing, helped organize clothing donations, worked in the kitchen, fed over 150 homeless people
• Parkside Baptist – we distributed hundreds of VBS flyers door-to-door in their neighborhood, with many good conversations about the church and the Lord
• Vintage Church – we assisted in clean-up from their recent VBS ministry and helped refurbish their children’s area, also assisted with their food distribution program
• Evangelism – teams walked in the City Park area and in the French Quarter, praying, asking people for prayer requests, and having gospel conversations
• Habitat for Humanity – volunteered in the Restore, and had conversations with patrons
• Food Bank – made over 1000 sandwiches to help feed people across Mississippi and Louisiana
• Urban Farms – community garden, helping to feed the poor
• Rebuild Ministries – helping to provide and improve housing for the poor