Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. – Francis of Assisi

This quote from St. Francis of Assisi is a beautiful way to describe the call to servant leadership that draws volunteers to Central Appalachia and to ASP’s mission. We welcome volunteers from over 30 states who represent a wide expression of faith traditions, school, and community groups. The extended family of volunteers that forms at ASP- is a diverse expression of God’s people with varied backgrounds, identities and expression of beliefs who unite around the same desire to serve people in Central Appalachia. 

Appalachia Service Project is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair and replacement in Central Appalachia. Even though we may not all express our faith in the same exact words, or perhaps we are still looking for words to express our faith, we value each person who comes to serve with us and invite you to partner with us this summer in Building Kindness through servant leadership.

Across our service area of 17 centers in 4 states, we will explore our theme of Building Kindness through stories of Jesus’ ministry. Together we will learn how kindness is foundational to building relationships and that kindness is a way of life as a follower of Christ. We will work together at our summer centers to model Building Kindness as more than a series of random acts but as the potential to become a radical way of living. We will work together to include everyone as we live together for a week in intentional community with potentially 5 generations of people at our summer centers!

We ask all groups to use the 3 new Pre-Trips sessions offered this year. We have some new standard practices that apply to all groups, even if you have come before for 2, 10 or 20 years, please use these sessions with your group members. Once you have used these sessions, please add from our additional resources section, or include resources that your group loves for your preparation.

This year’s three new sessions include: 

Connect: an exploration of Building Kindness and Ephesians 4:32 with a focus on building community and learning about ASP’s mission and our call to servant leadership. 

Build: an exploration of community building activities, tips for engaging in best practices for safety and learning from stories of kindness in the Bible.  

Transform: an exploration of how to transform your experience of serving with ASP by digging into our best practices for Safety, Sensitivity and Stewardship and understanding ASP’s guiding principles.  

When you arrive at your assigned county this summer, you will find additional Spiritual Programming resources for each day. These resources include our Field Guide which contains daily devotions and prayers that are connected to our theme, your staff will also invite your group to share leadership for morning devotions and to participate in and help lead our Evening Gatherings.

As we celebrate our 55th summer, Spiritual Programming materials will feature stories and writings from our Founder Tex Evans as well as activities from our ASP resource collection from over the years as we look back to our roots to help us focus our vision on serving God by sharing love and Building Kindness this summer and beyond.   

We are excited to welcome you this summer!

Blessings as you prepare, 

Rev. Jane Cheema

Director of Spiritual Programs