{"id":7857,"date":"2026-01-21T18:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/?p=7857"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:58:29","slug":"servio-deo-rise-youth-ministry-summer-mission-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/2026\/01\/21\/servio-deo-rise-youth-ministry-summer-mission-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Servio Deo: RISE Summer Mission Trip 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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June 1-5, 2026 | Black Mountain, NC<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
RISE Participant Registration (current 7th-12th graders)<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Chaperone Registration<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Work Crew Registration<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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A Mission Trip On A Mission<\/h3>\n<\/div>
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This June, RISE Youth Ministry will return to the Black Mountain, North Carolina, area to help those whose lives were uprooted on Black Mountain with the historic flooding from Hurricane Helene in 2024 and otherwise dealing with poverty. Our teens have <\/span>one goal in mind: to serve others as Jesus did. Servio Deo translates to “serving God’ and this trip allows our teens to fulfill that calling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

The Details<\/h3>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Who can come?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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This year\u2019s mission trip is open to students currently in 7th-12th grade. Young adults and adults are also welcome and encouraged to attend! To count as an adult chaperone, you must be 21 years of age or older. Those that graduated HS last year but have not yet reached 21 may contact Michaela Miller to inquire about being a Work Crew member.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Cost<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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COST: $540 (with options for payment plans and scholarships available)<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are unable to pay at this time, please contact Michaela Miller at mmiller@stmatthewtn.org<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Registration Deadline<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Registration will remain open until Monday, April 27, or until all spots are filled. *Spots are limited and are first-come, first-served!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What's this Mandatory Meeting<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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There will be a mandatory meeting for students, parents, and chaperones to go over important information about the trip. This meeting is on May 6th at 6:30 p.m. in the Cohan-Hansom Building.<\/strong>\u00a0If you cannot make this meeting you will need to contact Michaela Miller.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Transportation<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Chaperone vehicles will be used throughout the week to travel to and from Black Mountain, NC, and transport participants to work sites. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Lodging<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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We will be staying at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly for the week. Additional details to be shared at the information meeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Frequently Asked Questions<\/h3>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What is Servio Deo?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Servio Deo means “Serving God.” It is our annual mission trip by our youth ministry program. It is a special opportunity to open to let our youth focus on serving God and serving others. \u00a0It\u2019ll consist of a rhythm between service projects, sacraments, evening programs with games, and small group discussions. There will also be opportunities throughout to build friendships, faith, and your love for life as you serve others.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What is the general schedule? <\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Schedule will be released as the week gets closer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What do worksites look like?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Every worksite is different. There is a chance we may be split up into different groups (never without a Saint Matthew Chaperone). \u00a0If this happens, teens will likely be divided by grades.<\/p>\n

If you attended last years trip, we will be serving the same community. Many of the worksites will be determined closer to the trip so we can maximize our impact. We will be doing some work helping those with food insecurity. We may be doing additional hurricane and flooding cleanup and rebuilding. You may get dirty, you may be working out in the sun or in a house. You could be painting, or cleaning up debris. More details will be shared at the Mandatory meeting as the needs are ever-changing. We have a team to review worksites in advance to ensure the projects are a good match for Saint Matthew participants.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What does a chaperone do?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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There is absolutely no way we\u2019d be able to go on a mission trip if it wasn\u2019t for our amazing chaperones! As a chaperone,\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ll not only help us caravan to North Carolina and back, but you<\/span>\u2019ll also get the opportunity to truly participate in the experience with the teens. You<\/span>\u2019ll be at worksites, evening programs, meals, Mass, walking and guiding our group. The specific responsibilities day to day will look different: Tuesday, perhaps\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ll become the designated DJ; Wednesday might require some creative thinking on how to get kids to talk; Thursday, possibly keeping a joyful spirit of service; Friday, probably rolling kids out of bed; The possibilities are vast. If\u00a0you<\/span> have any specific questions regarding this, please let us know and contact Michaela at mmiller@stmatthewtn.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>What requirements are there for chaperones?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Chaperones must be 21 or older and cleared through the diocese\u2019s safe environment program. Rules and expectations of these adults will be communicated towards the beginning of the week. We must abide by Diocesan and organizational guidelines to ensure we keep an appropriate student to chaperone ratio.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>How does one receive a scholarship?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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If your student volunteered at the Pancake Breakfast in February, they are automatically eligible for a scholarship. Additional opportunities may arise and will be shared as we get closer to the mission trip. These will not be advertised, so make sure to contact Michael for more information. There is also a spot on the application you may check if you would like to discuss scholarships or financial assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20,1],"tags":[484,482,134,57,135,143,485,379,381,29,25,140,136,27],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7857"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8173,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857\/revisions\/8173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}