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Youth groups in Spokane, Bainbridge Island swap mission trips in cross-state church partnership
Spokane and Bainbridge Island Presbyterian teens will reunite for a week of service, environmental projects and faith-based learning as part of an ongoing mission exchange.
By Harper Haase | FāVS News Reporter
Teenagers from Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church in Spokane will spend a week on Bainbridge Island July 11 – 18, for the second half of a mission exchange between two Presbyterian congregations nearly 300 miles apart.
The trip returns a visit from July 2025, when 14 youth from Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church on Bainbridge Island traveled to Spokane for a week of service projects.
The partnership began when Cory Dunn, Rolling Bay’s youth director set out to plan a mission trip and found the cost and unreliability of larger mission-trip organizations limiting, he said. Dunn, who also teaches high school, reached out to Mitchel Pierce, youth director at Hamblen Park.
“We’ve been really leaning into the idea of partnership beyond just one week of service,” Pierce said. “When Cory reached out, it really fit into the mission of looking for longer-term partners.”
A mission exchange begins
Last summer’s week in Spokane was built around the theme “One Body, Many Parts.” Students slept in sleeping bags on the floor at Hamblen Park and opened the week with a day at Silverwood Theme Park.
The group volunteered at Feast World Kitchen, a Spokane nonprofit restaurant staffed by former refugees and immigrants. They helped with touchups, including cleaning and painting.
The main point of these mission trips is to get the kids in front of people who are really passionate about helping other people, and get them excited about it,” Dunn said.
The students also spent a day at Growing Neighbors harvesting food for local banks that would otherwise go to waste.
“It’s hard and sweaty work, but the kids were aware that service happens not where it’s convenient but where people need it most,” Dunn said.
Lessons learned through service
The week ended with a one-day camp the students hosted alongside Family Promise — an organization that supports homeless families — with water balloon fights, games and food.
It was a way to “meet people where they’re at and show our students how important it is to understand that what is normal for you might not be normal for someone else,” Dunn said.
Since then, the congregations have held a joint winter retreat this January at Tall Timber Ranch near Leavenworth.
The July trip’s theme is “Salt and Light,” with a focus on environmental stewardship.
“What does it mean to be entrusted with nature, and what is our responsibility for that?” Dunn said.
Looking ahead to Bainbridge
Rolling Bay’s Children, Youth and Family Ministries committee will open the week with a beach day: tide pool exploration with younger children at low tide, a beach cleanup in the afternoon and an evening talk by Deb Rudnick — a Bainbridge Island resident who holds a doctorate in environmental science.
Later in the week, students will harvest crops for local food banks Helpline House and Fishline through Grace Episcopal Church‘s “Gifts of Dirt” program and volunteer with West Sound Wildlife Shelter, learning about wildlife rehabilitation.
Both youth directors said they plan to continue the relationship through a January retreat and continued summer mission trips.
The students are learning “what it looks like to serve and not expect to be noticed,” Pierce said.
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