At the end of the book of Matthew in the Bible, Jesus called for His followers to go out and make disciples in what is widely known as the Great Commission.
AFA’s The Stand Radio recently caught up with The Stand magazine's own Carly McGee and her 19-year-old son, Mason (featured below), following their 13-day mission trip to New Zealand for Winterfest — a youth camp to reach isolated teenagers with the gospel.
For Mason, a recent high school graduate, the journey was his first foray into foreign missions. He said sharing his faith with young people raised in a different culture offered valuable lessons in relaying the basic message of Christ.
“People in New Zealand, everyone there is super nice, but like, they don't know the Lord as much as you would think they would. And so, they come to you with these basic questions... Well, let me tell you what I know and what the Bible says,” Mason recounted.
Despite severe weather conditions — including flooding, snow and ice — that threatened to cancel the camp until the night before it started, the roads cleared just in time.
Carly McGee highlighted how seeing long-term life transformation made overcoming every obstacle worthwhile.
“Last year, there's this girl... the last day she gave her life to the Lord. She was able to turn her life completely around, and she actually brought four friends to this year's Winterfest. So, just to see that carry over through her was really neat to see,” Carly said.
By the end of the week, 40 young people stepped forward during worship to make or renew commitments to Christ. For any young believer hesitant about stepping out into mission work, Mason has simple advice:
“I would say definitely go for it, because even if missions ends up not being something you want to do in the future, you still have that trip to look back on, and the experience itself was just amazing.”
