Shepherd's Corner (July 16, 2025)

Shepherds Corner July 16

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“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

— Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

Dear Riverside Family,

This coming week, a team of our youth and adult leaders will travel to Altoona, Pennsylvania, for a one-week short-term mission trip with TeamEffort. TeamEffort partners with local churches and ministries to connect youth groups with real needs in communities across the nation. In Altoona, our team will participate in construction and home repair projects—painting, building wheelchair ramps, doing yard work, and more—all to serve those who might otherwise be overlooked or forgotten.

These projects are more than manual labor. They are holy opportunities.

As Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, when His people do good works in His name, they shine the light of heaven into a dark and weary world. The mission field is not just in the words we speak, but in the lives we live. Our youth are stepping into this calling—not only to speak of the gospel, but to embody it as well.

They will rise early, prepare lunches, head out to work sites, and end each night in worship and group reflection. The rhythm of their days will be physically demanding and spiritually rich. Along the way, they will be challenged by the heat, unfamiliar settings, and the harsh realities of poverty, but they will also be changed. These young people will learn what it means to be neighbors to the vulnerable, to build trust with strangers, and to give without expecting anything in return.

In a world where arguments or affiliations often measure Christianity, our youth are taking a different path—the path of quiet, faithful service in the name of Jesus. This is the kind of witness that brings lasting glory to God.

I invite and urge you to pray intentionally for them each day. Pray for safety as they travel and work. Pray for strength as they face long hours. Pray for humility and compassion as they meet new people and serve in unfamiliar places. Pray for unity among the team, and for the Holy Spirit to stir in their hearts a deeper vision of what it means to live a gospel-shaped life. Please pray for Pastors Danny and Grace Song as they lead this mission trip.

Let us also remember that they serve as our representatives. As a church, we are sending them out with our blessing, our support, and our prayers. And in doing so, we are reminded that the mission of God belongs to all of us, not just for one week in Altoona, but every day, wherever God has placed us.

Thank you for being a church that believes in the next generation, that invests in mission, and that trusts the Spirit to work through ordinary hands to do extraordinary things.

With deep gratitude and joy,

Pastor Brian Lee