SoCal Senior Mission Trip to New York

This past spring break, a group of 17 of us—11 seniors and 6 staff—headed to New York City for a mission trip. We partnered with our church there to reach out to local youth and college students around the city.

One of the first things we did after landing was meet up with the New York team over dinner. It was a super welcoming time where we got to know everyone and hear what ministry looks like in such a big, busy city. We quickly realized how huge the need is—there are over a million youth and more than 700,000 college students in the area—so yeah, there was plenty to do.

Throughout the week, we tried a bunch of different outreach ideas. Early on, we split into small groups and went to parks near New York University and other campuses. We invited students to play “We’re Not Really Strangers,” which turned out to be a great way to have real, meaningful conversations. Some groups got to share the gospel for the first time, which was really cool to see.

Later that night, we hosted an event and invited the people we met earlier. There was New York pizza, boba, board games—just a really chill environment to keep conversations going. A lot of people showed up, including familiar faces from the parks and new ones who came because of our flyers. It was awesome realizing that even though we’re from opposite coasts, we’re all dealing with similar things—school, life, and the bigger questions that come with it.

One thing we learned pretty quickly: there are a lot of youth in New York… and they love volleyball. One of our teams helped run a youth night in Queens with apologetics booths like “How Reliable Is the Bible?” and “Who Does Jesus Say He Is?” We also played some fun icebreaker games and wrapped it up with a volleyball tournament—where, to be honest, the students kind of destroyed the staff.

We also spent time doing park outreach, which basically meant more volleyball and inviting students to Area Youth Ministry (AYM), where they could get plugged into mentors, Bible studies, and community. It really reminded us of Gospel of Matthew 9:37: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” There were so many students open to connecting—it just showed how much help is still needed.

Outside of outreach, we got to visit some really meaningful places too. We went to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and the Museum of the Bible, and we also made a trip to Washington, D.C. to see spots like the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the White House.

One of my personal favorite moments was visiting Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster and watching their production of Joshua. It was such a powerful way to experience the story of Joshua and Rahab.

Overall, the trip was a really meaningful experience. It pushed us out of our comfort zones, helped us build real connections, and reminded us how important it is to just show up and meet people where they’re at—even if that just starts with a simple conversation or a game of volleyball.

Rosalia Torres (c/o 2022) graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Zoology. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, and going on walks! She is currently serving as a mentor to the class of 2028 at acts2fellowship SB.