Elementary

Elementary students will get the chance to serve in 7 unique ways this school year:

1. Recycling - Students will be cutting used clothing into rags which will be sold in our area and the money used for relief efforts around the world.
2. Cooking - Students will be preparing cookies to be delivered to a soup kitchen in our community.
3. Cards - Students will be creating cards to be sent to hospitals and prisons.
4. Preschool - Students will help and play with our 4-year-old preschool class.
5. Crafts - Students will create simple crafts that will be delivered to area hospitals and nursing homes.
6. Beautification - Students will work around our school to "beautify"our campus.
7. Visiting - Students will visit 2 area retirement communities to engage in activities with the residents.

Lima, Peru

Seniors Kelsie Shook and Zackary Hodges participated in Greater Johnstown Christian Fellowship’s summer mission trip to Lima, Peru.

Decorating cookies for Family Kitchen

Elementary

Elementary students will get the chance to serve in 7 unique ways this school year:

1. Recycling - Students will be cutting used clothing into rags which will be sold in our area and the money used for relief efforts around the world.
2. Cooking - Students will be decorating cookies for Family Kitchen.
3. Cards - Students will be creating cards to be sent to hospitals and prisons.
4. Preschool - Students will help and play with our 4-year-old preschool class.
5. Crafts - Students will create simple crafts that will be delivered to area hospitals and nursing homes.
6. Beautification - Students will work to beautify places in our school.
7. Visiting - Students will visit 2 area retirement communities to engage in activities with the residents.

National Evangelism Team (NET)

Nicole Johnson, senior, participated with the National Evangelism Team in June 2015.  N.E.T. is a two week commitment (during the summer) for young people. They begin with a week of training which includes learning to share their faith through music, puppets, drama, bible lessons, testimonies, object lessons, door-to-door and much more. The second week the team will travel to a destination in the United States to minister to churches and the community in the chosen area. It is a life changing experience.  Nicole’s team traveled to Peru, Indiana; Alto, Michigan; and Mansfield, Ohio.  Faith and Family week was introduced this year, allowing families to serve together. The theme was the life of David and the team performed several different character impersonations.

New Mexico

Seniors Kyrstin Jeffreys and Gwen Price were blessed to go on a mission trip to New Mexico from June 16 - June 26, 2015.  They ministered to the Navajo Indians while building a new dormitory off the church in the middle of the Indian reservation.  On three nights Kyrstin and Gwen ministered to children in the local town where they were staying. This experience opened their eyes to how amazing the Lord is and how He works through us to minister to others.

Lost Creek, Kentucky

Berkey Church of the Brethren returned again to serve at Riverside Christian School and Caney Creek Mennonite Church in Lost Creek Kentucky  from July 18-22, 2015.  Those from JCS who attended were: Bobby Antesberger, Brielle Antesberger, Carrie Antesberger, Sharon Crissman, Jason Crissman, Ethan Stanton, Mike Roose, Emma Roose, and Josh Roose. Our service there consisted of maintenance and janitorial work at the school.  We also conducted Bible School lessons at the church in the evenings. One amazing part of the trip was the time we just enjoyed the people of the holler. We spent time playing games, worshiping with them, sharing Sunday dinnner, and hosting a carnival for the children.  A highlight was the gift of bicycles that we were able to give to each youth and child.  One young man from Berkey Church, Jacob Price, collected, repaired, and delivered the bikes to each kid who attended VBS.  Our mission is to build relationships with the people in the community and to continue nurturing those relationships throughout the year.

Guatamala

In early January, Kyrstin Jeffreys had the opportunity to visit Guatemala for a mission trip.  She and five others traveled to different small villages within 2 hours of the city, Xenocoj, where she and her team were staying.  In these villages, they held a morning children's program which included games, face painting, and handing out soccer balls that she collected through donations.  Kyrstin loved to see the children's faces as they received a ball.  After the fun and games, the team shared a salvation message and prayed with those who wanted to be saved.  In the evenings, the team with a wheelchair factory and a women's ministry. Team members walked around Xenocoj aiding new mothers and praying for others who are ill in their homes.  Kyrstin said "it was an amazing opportunity to see God work through other people and see how God worked in her own life."

Waynesboro, VA

In April, sixteen students and four adults packed into vans and headed south to Waynesboro, Virginia. We had a vague idea of what we would be doing once we arrived, but we knew that God would be present and He would work through us.

When we arrived, we unloaded the contents of the vans into the Sunday School classrooms and fellowship hall at Waynesboro Mennonite Church, our home for the week. In these rooms, we would share our time and give our love to the children in the neighborhood surrounding Waynesboro Mennonite Church.  We would hear the hearts of Seth Crissman and his sister, Joyce, who serve in the community daily, and we would be challenged.

Upon arrival, we didn’t unpack our bags, but we prepared to meet the children with whom we would spend our evenings.  We sang silly songs. We did crafts. We made friends. We watched the excitement on the children’s faces as Seth prepared to share the message, and we learned that this was possibly the only opportunity they had to learn of Christ and His love. So, we made the most of every opportunity to love like Jesus.

During the days, we encountered projects that were physically challenging, time-consuming, and dirty. We chopped trees, sorted clothes, crawled under houses, shoveled mulch, painted walls, and much more.  Our endurance was tested, but we knew God was at work.  As local people opened their homes and afforded us the opportunity to shower, they shared their hearts for the ministries we were serving. We learned how God was using the devastation of a broken family and a prison sentence for good, and how we had become a part of what He was doing there. Although they did not know us and we did not know them, we became a part of each other's stories.  We were inspired by their passion for helping recently released prisoners and their hope of opening a halfway house founded on the love of Jesus Christ. Though the work was hard, we were reminded that all people need Jesus. We left knowing that God was at work and thankful for the opportunity to know and serve the people in Waynesboro, Virginia.

Missions 2014-15

Learning Together, Growing Together, Serving Together Elementary Service Elementary students will get the chance to serve in 7 unique ways this school year: Recycling - Students will be cutting used clothing into rags which will be sold in our area and the money used for relief efforts around the world. Cooking - Students will be preparing snacks to deliver to elderly in our community. Cards - Students will be creating cards to be sent to hospitals and prisons. Preschool - Students will help and play with our 4-year-old preschool class. Crafts - Students will create simple crafts that will be delivered to area hospitals and nursing homes. Kit Assembly - Students will be assembling kits to help people in different difficult situations (service men, flood relief, school kits for impoverish areas, etc). Visiting - Students will visit 2 area retirement communities to engage in activities with the residents.

Ukrainian English Camp Laura Courtney returned to Ukraine this summer with alumnae Sadie Sprankle and Lindsey Najjar.   This is Laura’s  eighth mission trip to serve at an English Camp.  Despite the turmoil and only having one camp this summer, they have even more Ukrainians than in previous years.   “We even had a student from the east (Luhansk Region), whose family had recently lost everything as a result of separatist violence.  Despite everything, she, like all the Ukrainians I interacted with, is very hopeful about the future.  In fact, I have never encountered more patriotism in Ukraine than I did this year.” As in previous years, Laura was the team leader.  “It’s always exciting to minister alongside my students, and this year was no exception. Sadie and Lindsey were especially helpful in prepping for camp and in lifting me up during some of the harder moments of the trip.” One of the main goals of camp is for the Ukrainians to see what it means to be in relationship with Christ. We always involve Ukrainians who have already experienced that relationship for themselves.  Dima (shown in picture) became a Christian after coming to camp in 2010.  He has grown to be a very strong leader in the home church there. Here are some vital statistics from the English Camp (out of 26 students): ·  All students want to stay in contact with Randy, Shelley, Brent, and Kevin · 23 want to be involved with English Clubs · 19 want to read the Bible · 14 students want to join Life Group (the Marshall’s home church) · 9 want to talk more about what it means to have a relationship with Christ · 8 indicated that they prayed to receive Christ · 5 want to participate in one-on-one discipleship · 5 understand the Gospel, but not ready to make a commitment

Chattanooga, Tennessee Tyler Seth, Patrick Dunagan, Aubrey Cook, and Trinity Romesberg traveled with Emmanuel Baptist junior high youth group  to Chattanooga, TN, for a mission trip this summer.  Students worked with inner city kids at a day camp, visited a nursing home, and did physical work at a local recreation park.

Lost Creek, Kentucky Why would you find Mike Roose lying under a pew pounding? Or Ethan Stanton and Josh Roose in a creek pulling a pair of pants out of the mud bank? And did you notice Breanna Gerhardt spraying those thousands of termites in the bathroom? We never had termites before! Ruth Velesquez and Rachel Minor, did you ever love as deeply a child so needy? Eleven of us traveled to a holler in Kentucky to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Johnstown Christian School is located in a Pennsylvania hollow, along Soap Hollow Road, our Kentucky holler differs greatly. Caney Creek holler is a road that proceeds from a mouth to a head through mountains that ascend steeply on either side of the narrow precarious one-lane road that runs parallel to Caney Creek. Whatever flat space the holler allows is taken up by homes, which are inhabited by people we love. About a third of the way in from the mouth to the head lies the Caney Creek Mennonite Church which was home for us for four days. We lived in the Sunday School rooms, ate in the fellowship hall and served in the gym and yard of the church. The lone, never-before-used shower, soon filled the bathroom with thousands of termites from the wood beneath it. The sagging pews needed to be braced up. The cleaning up of the creek? Well, we’ll work on that for another ten years! We played games, climbed the muddy mountain, and served families supper. We made a campfire and taught people to roast a marshmallow and make s’mores. We painted the stones in their cemetery white upon their request, so they could read the names and dates. We were Jesus with skin on to a community. Although Berkey Church has served there for more than a decade, this time the adults trusted us enough to share with us their laughter and their pains. We came and lived among them, and we loved them deeply with His love. The poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and health concerns for our good friends who happen to live there weighed heavy on our hearts as we left. —Sharon Crissman

Think like Jesus, love like Jesus, and act like Jesus

Haiti

Gwen Price ('16) traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti in July.  The team did a Vacation Bible School and helped paint a school.

Lost Creek, KY

Sharon Crissman (Faculty) with Celeste Sprankle (Faculty) and Sophie Sprankle ('18) went to Lost Creek, Kentucky in June.  The team did a Vacation Bible School for Caney Creek Mennonite Church (in a holler) and manual labor for Riverside Christian School.

Jos, Nigeria

Teddy Dunagan ('16) went to Jos, Nigeria in June with his mother Rebecca and brother Owen.  They spent time at an orphanage loving on the kids.  Partnering with Oakland UMC's Vacation Bible School - the team took suitcases full of books, crayons, toys and other fun stuff to share with the kids as well as $700 raised to begin a potato farm.

Sevierville, TN

Savannah Kestermont ('17) went to a children’s home in Sevierville, Tennessee in July. The team did manual labor and a chapel service.

Elementary

Students had the opportunity to serve in 5 service projects this year:

1. Recycling – Students will be cutting used clothing into rags which will be sold in our area and the money used for relief efforts around the world.
2. Cooking – Students will be baking cookies to deliver to elderly in our community.
3. Cards – Students will be creating cards to be sent to hospitals and prisons.
4. Preschool – Students will help and play with our 4-year-old preschool class.
5. Visiting – Students will visit 2 area retirement communities to engage in activities with the residents.

Hurricane Sandy Cleanup

Ukranian Mission Trip

2013 Graduate on Mission Trip

Nathan Defibaugh, a 2013 graduate, joined a team of vounteers for a mission trip to El Crucero, Nicaragua.  The group went to Newhope Children's Foundation and met missionary John Speigle (JCS Class of 1990) and his family.  They built a house for a school teacher at the foundation.