When a tree fell on his home, Alan Bridges wondered if he would ever live there again. With the help of volunteers working out of the Shelby Mission Camp and your support of the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), his place is becoming a home again.

‘The Lord is going to make my place a home again’

Collectively, volunteers spent more than 5,000 days serving at both Red Springs and Shelby mission camps in 2020. The camps host churches, youth groups and others and coordinate short-term missions projects in the local community. Volunteers engage in a variety of projects, which include construction, painting, home repair, yard work, Bible schools, sports camps and more.

Shelby Mission Camp is run by Baptists on Mission and is supported through the North Carolina Missions Offering.

“It’s just overwhelming. They were all in my eyes, angels. I don’t really think I deserve this. I appreciate it,” says Bridges about the help and relief he received through he mission camp.

No matter the circumstance and no matter the cost, we’re called to bring relief to our hurting world through selfless acts of kindness and generosity. Reflecting on all that has been done to help, Bridges said, “All these people that help me. I don’t even know some of their names. They come in here and smile and help me out and don’t ask for a thing in return.”

“It’s just overwhelming. They were all in my eyes, angels.” — Alan Bridges

Because of your gifts to the North Carolina Missions Offering, Baptists are being mobilized across our state and around the world to provide relief in the midst of pain and disaster. The offering supports providing temporary relief while also sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, which offers eternal hope.

The Shelby Camp hosts volunteers across North Carolina and surrounding states who come to complete a wide variety of short and long-term mission projects – from installing wheelchair ramps to harvesting potatoes from the camp’s own fields – to help those in need. The camp has two large buildings – one that can house, feed and sleep up to 200 volunteers, and the other that stores building materials and tools.

The Shelby Mission Camp receives the majority of its funding through the NCMO. Each year, 15 percent of the NCMO is designated to the Shelby Mission Camp and a similar one located in Red Springs.

In 2020, more than $300,000 in proceeds from the NCMO went to the mission camps. These funds help make a difference in the lives of many North Carolinians, through volunteers who serve to provide relief and hope with many.

The ministry through Shelby Mission Camp is a way to serve others and proclaim the love of Christ. Because of the selfless acts of N.C. Baptists, Alan Bridges can say, “the Lord is going to make my place a home again.”

For more information or to be a part of the NCMO, visit ncmissionsoffering.org.

Will Taylor serves as the communications specialist with the Marketing and Communications group. He has been on staff at the Baptist state convention since March 2015.

Growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Christian studies from North Greenville University. Shortly thereafter, he lived as a missionary, working in church planting in two contexts: Romania and Nigeria.

Will also received a master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a concentration in missiology.

He resides with his wife, Kate, in Durham. They are members of The Summit Church.
Will loves good coffee, exploring new places, and cooking and eating ethnic foods. He’s passionate about communicating the message and vision of seeing the unreached come to know Christ.