Roanoke and Chilean Youth Make Big Impact in Virginia

Impact Tour founder Miguel Hernandez greets visitors at one of the group’s outreach gatherings in a Richmond neighborhood last week.
Impact Tour founder Miguel Hernandez greets visitors at one of the group’s outreach gatherings in a Richmond neighborhood last week.

For many people, the phrase “youth group mission trip” usually conjures up visions of young people leaving home and traveling to work, minister and worship somewhere far away, often in a foreign country.

This summer, members of the student ministry of Roanoke’s Church of the Holy Spirit have turned that model on its head.  Partnering with a group of Chilean students whose mission field is Virginia, they have spent the past two weeks ministering to those in their own backyards, participating in what is known as the “Impact Tour – I Love Virginia!”

Angela Natt, Student Ministry Leader at Roanoke’s Church of the Holy Spirit (far left), leads a group of students from Roanoke and Santiago, Chile, in prayer at a meeting in downtown Roanoke Tuesday.
Angela Natt, Student Ministry Leader at Roanoke’s Church of the Holy Spirit (far left), leads a group of students from Roanoke and Santiago, Chile, in prayer at a meeting in downtown Roanoke Tuesday.

After spending last week sharing their message of hope and love in Richmond, the local youth group is hosting the group of youth and their leaders from Santiago, Chile. They are leading outreach events locally at the Valley View Wal-Mart, Tanglewood Mall, and the Williamson Road Library.

The weeklong mission outreach in Roanoke culminates Friday night (July 24) in a free community concert in Elmwood Park that will feature a cross-cultural mix of music and entertainment including Latin, hip-hop and praise music, a step team, a dramatic presentation and multi-lingual speakers.

The group is made up of youth and leaders from the Santiago, Chile, branch of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international Christian outreach organization; the student ministry of Church of the Holy Spirit (CHS); and the North Roanoke Baptist Hispanic church plant, Convivencia Familiar Chrisiana.

According to Angela Natt, CHS’s minister to students, the concert is designed to foster an environment for united worship and reach across language, culture, age and denomination barriers.

“The message we hope to ring out from the epicenter of our community: ‘God loves Roanoke and God loves YOU’,” Natt writes in her invitation letter.

“People get a lot of ‘religion,’ not a lot of love,” she said.

The free concert will feature three worship bands with distinctly different cultural worship styles, incorporating dance and drama.  Natt promises food vendors, gifts, give-a-ways and an over-all spirit of celebration.

“Most of all, we want to bless God’s heart as we unify and take the incredible Gospel we have been entrusted with to the streets of our city,” Natt said.

Student ministry leaders from CHS developed a relationship with the group of Chilean missionaries over the past seven years. While members from the Roanoke church have traveled to Chile several times over that time, this is the first trip for the Chileans to visit and minister in Roanoke.

The “Impact Tour” was birthed from a vision given to Miguel Hernandez, who works with YWAM in Santiago.

“I really believe there is a lonely generation [out there today] with great potential. They are desperate; it’s like they are wearing t-shirts asking, ‘can you love me?” Hernandez said after a time of prayer and worship in downtown Roanoke Tuesday.

For more information, contact Angela Natt at Church of the Holy Spirit, 540-772-4915

By Pam Rickard
[email protected]

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles