College Mission Trip to Prescott, Arizona

Our Mission Team: Matt Roberts, Janice Pierce, Steve Pierce, Katie Orndoff, Rachel McMahan, Caleb Ellis, Emily Hogan, Adam Morgan, Lydia Orange, Aaron Whittemore, Tim Parker, Set Free Center Director.

Seven college students and three chaperones from First Baptist Church of Marion recently traveled to Prescott, Arizona to work at the Set Free Center, a new ministry in downtown Prescott.  We were connected with Tim Parker, the director of the Center through Jon Bundy, the grandson of FBC Marion members Bob and Joanne Smathers.  A conversation with Bob and Joanne led to a conversation with Jon which led to a conversation with Tim.  Through the family connections and conversations, God was at work bringing us together.  In a matter of weeks, our trip came together with lodging, meals, and a week's work at the Set Free Center being arranged.

The Set Free Center is a Christ-centered, downtown mission that helps people overcome addictions, whether it is drugs, alcohol, or emotional.  The Center occupies a large second floor area over businesses along busy Cortez Street in Prescott.  While not fully open yet, it is already establishing itself downtown through word-of-mouth and referrals and the support of a few churches in Prescott. Once the Set Free Center is open it will offer counseling services, a coffee shop, gym, and serve as a a hub for Celebrate Recovery, a Christ based 12-step program where men and women come together to share how Christ has changed their lives and is continuing to help change their beliefs, actions and ultimately their outcomes.

Emily and Lydia at the cabin.

Our "home" while in Prescott was the Verner Cabin set among the pine trees at Camp Pinerock. Three bedrooms, a kitchen and living area accommodated our group.  The camp provided a rural setting convenient to our worksite downtown.  The college students divided preparing dinner each night, lunches were made each morning before leaving for work, after a simple breakfast of cereal and fruit.  The dinner menu included spaghetti served with salad, hamburger steak and sides, and one evening, "breakfast for dinner." Evening devotions were held after dinner.


Our work at the Set Free Center was part demolition, part rehabbing flooring materials, and part installation of floors and walls.  Everyone had opportunities to get "down and dirty" working with materials from the over-100 year old building.  Sub-flooring in what will be a new bathroom had to come out so new plumbing could go in.

Adam, Aaron, and Caleb ripping up sub-flooring. Emily is sweeping up the ever-present dust.

Floor up and ready to be plumbed.

The area that will be the coffee bar has a four foot wall separating it from the rest of the space that makes up the Set Free Center.  Old pallet boards were reclaimed to panel these dividers.  Our group cut and nailed the boards to make a rustic wall.  The boards were then sealed with fire-retardant sealer.

Aaron, Matt, Katie, and Rachel selecting boards.

Putting up the boards.

Almost finished!

Tongue and groove flooring had been taken up in parts of the building and the plan was to reuse it in other parts of the floor.  Each piece of the 2.5 inch flooring had many years of paint, dirt and crud that needed to be scraped and sanded so it could be used.  Everyone spent several hours scraping the tongue and groove pieces and sanding the surface.  Lots of dust was generated in this process.

Emily and Lydia sanding.

Janice and Steve scraping.

Katie, Lydia, and Rachel scraping and sanding.

Yet another project was prepping a section of the floor in the main part of the room for the reclaimed tongue and groove flooring.  A center strip the length of the room was cleaned and sub-floored, ready for the flooring to be pieced in.  At three places along the strip a cross was installed.  The crosses will later be painted to stand out.

One of three crosses set in the new floor section.

Getting instruction from Guy, a volunteer contractor, on installing the flooring.

Adam and Caleb installing the floor. 

New floor section runs the length of the main room.

Finishing the floor with Rachel and Katie.

The gym will be a great addition to the Set Free Center.  When we arrived, there were only a few pieces of equipment in the gym.  Weights and equipment were brought to the center, carried up the stairs, and installed in the gym.  No telling how many pounds of weights and equipment were carried up those stairs!

Some of the weights carried up the steps.

All the weights went up these steps.

Pumping iron in the new gym.

One evening we went back to the Set Free Center for a Celebrate Recovery dinner and meeting.  There were at least 50 people there sharing a chili dinner and hearing encouraging words from Pastor Tim.  For many of us it was a first time attending a recovery meeting.  I was impressed by the positive message and the encouragement and support the participants had for one another.

It was a rewarding week and our college students worked hard. All mastered the use of various power tools.  Much was accomplished, but most of all new relationships were made.  We look forward to seeing how God uses the Set Free Center to free people from addiction and give them new lives in Christ.  Our students had positive attitudes all week, and they represented First Baptist Church in an exemplary manner.  Tim came up to me several times during the week to comment on what a great group of young people we have and to thank us for coming.  We were the first out-of-state team to work at the Set Free Center.

You can follow the work of the Set Free Center at their website and their Facebook Page.

Next blog: Our R&R at the Grand Canyon.