Mission work, along with singing, part of CHRIST Choir tour

The CHRIST (Christ Has Risen In Singing Teens) Choir from Asbury United Methodist Church focused on mission work for its summer tour in Georgia and Florida.

CHRIST Choir members (in blue T-shirts) lead an activity with children in Atlanta.

The choir visited Whirlwind Missions in Atlanta, a residential area for refugees in this country.

Whirlwind Missions’ motto is “Taking the Church, To the People” for hands-on missions experience in the community (whirlwindmissions.org). This outreach “is based on developing one-on-one relationships with volunteers from evangelistic churches and secular organizations,” choir director Susan Hatcher said.

“We visited the areas where (the residents) shop and eat,” Hatcher said. “It was as if we were actually in their countries instead of Atlanta.” The Madison teenagers enjoyed the International Marketplace, tasting and buying many ethnic foods from various countries.

That afternoon, the choir went to apartment complexes affiliated with Whirlwind Missions to “hang out” with the families’ children. When the choir’s buses reached the apartments, “the children came out of the woodwork,” Hatcher said.

The CHRIST Choir had 10 teams organized for Backyard Bible Study, to play games and do crafts. Many complexes had 30 children wanting to participate — one had more than 50 children.

The tour group included 76 teenagers in grades 10-12 and 17 chaperones.

For their program, the choir performed the musical “Are We There Yet?” by Dennis and Nan Allen. The message was based on Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

“The musical was designed to inspire and equip us to be witnesses for Christ to every person we can reach,” Hatcher said.

Instrumentalist accompanists were Resha Wingo, keyboard; Mike Botts, bass guitar; Jim Hawkins, electric guitar; Jeff Williams, acoustic guitar; and Chris Lund, drums.

They visited United Methodist churches in Grayson and Roswell, Ga., along with Brighton Gardens of Tampa, a retirement community. Their sightseeing included the Atlanta Aquarium and Centennial Park. In Tampa, they held worship on the beach and enjoyed Busch Gardens.